












* 


































' 


m '• 

. 

* 














v * 
















































■ 








i * * 












> 





































































. 


















i -■ ■ 

# 

* 

































































■ 

* 


- 


















































































. 






























































* 


























































A UNIFORM EDITION OF THE FOLLOWING WORKS, 
BY NEHEMIAH ADAMS, D.D. 


I. Agnes and the Little Key; or , Bereaved 
Parents Instructed and Comforted. 

An enlarged and corrected edition, adapted to all 
denominations. 

II. Bertha and her Baptism. 

III. Catharine. 

IV. The Friends of Christ in the New Testa¬ 

ment. 

V. Christ a Friend. 

VI. The Communion Sabbath. 

VII. Broadcast. 


TICKNOR AND FIELDS, 

Publishers. 



BERTHA 


:> 


AND HER 


BAPTISM. 


BY THE AUTHOR OF “AGNES AND THE LITTLE KEY.” 



REVISED EDITION. 



BOSTON: 

TICKNOR AND FIELDS. 
1863 . 





gv'S/'S 

.A 25 

Itb? 


Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by 
NEHEMIAH ADAMS, 

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 


PREFACE. 


This book, and that which is also named in 
the title-page, were written at the same time, 
and as one book; but they were afterward 
separated, as more properly constituting two 
volumes, the part which was the original of 
the present volume now being greatly enlarged. 
Thus the two books grew in the author’s mind 
together, from one and the same root, — the 
death of a little child. 

1 * 




CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

Page 

PROBABILITIES OF AN ORDINANCE FOR CHILDREN,. 9 

CHAPTER II. 

THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER.-THE NATURE, GROUNDS AND INFLU¬ 
ENCE, OF INFANT BAPTISM, . 16 

CHAPTER III. 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BAPTISMS. — THE SUBJECTS AND MODE OF 

BAPTISM, . 76 

CHAPTER IV. 

IS THERE ONLY ONE MODE OF BAPTISM?. 121 

CHAPTER V. 

SCENES OF BAPTISM. — REASONABLENESS, BEAUTY AND POWER, OF 
INFANT BAPTISM. — USE OF SPECIAL VOWS. — HUSBANDS AT 
BAPTISMS.—NEGLECT OF BAPTISM,. 130 








Fill 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER VI. 

TESTIMONY OP THE CHRISTIAN FATHERS. — APOSTOLIC PRACTICE OF 

INFANT BAPTISM. — MINISTERIAL USAGES IN BAPTISMS, .... 143 

CHAPTER VII. 

TERMS OF COMMUNION. — NON-INTRUSION. — DENOMINATIONAL COUR¬ 
TESY AND KINDNESS,. 184 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM,. 198 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. — ARE THEY MEMBERS OF THE 

CHURCH ?. 216 

CHAPTER X. 

MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS.-CONSTITUTION AND RULES FOR THEM.— 

A CHRISTIAN MOTHER^ QUESTIONS TO HERSELF, . 255 

CHAPTER XI. 

BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE AND HER CHILDREN,. 272 







BERTHA 

AND HER BAPTISM. 


Cftspttr |int. 

Probabilities op an Ordinance for Children. 

’T is aye a solemn thing to me 
To look upon a babe that sleeps, 

Wearing in its spirit-deeps 
The unrevealed mystery 
Of its Adam’s taint and woe. —Miss Barrett. 

Heaven lies about us in our infancy. — Wordsworth. 

It is generally believed that, of those who have 
gone to heaven from this world, by far the larger 
part have been infants and young children. Born 
here, they were by one man’s disobedience made 
sinners; born of the Spirit, at their early transla¬ 
tion to heaven, they hold an important place in the 
plan of salvation by Christ. Very beautiful, as 
well as sublime, is the thought of so large a con¬ 
tribution, to the heavenly world, of human beings 
in the dawn of their existence, enhancing, as we 





10 


PROBABILITIES OF 


may suppose, the happiness of heaven by such 
large admixture of exotic, youthful nature, and 
illustrating, by their redemption from a helpless 
state of sin and misery, the unsearchable riches of 
wisdom and grace. 

Has God done anything, in this world, to mark 
his regard for that class of the human race constitut¬ 
ing, thus far, the greater part of the redeemed? We 
naturally look for something reminding the world 
of his interest in these subsidiaries of his kingdom. 
Has he confined his notice to those that are full- 
grown, and who have, thus far, the larger part of 
them, withheld from him the fruit of his vineyard? 
God has a church on earth, with ordinances, sym¬ 
bols, covenant signs: among them is there not 
some sign, symbol, or ordinance, recognizing those 
who, more than any other of the race, have, till 
now, been swelling the numbers of that church in 
heaven ? 

Like those elements of astronomical calculation 
which require and lead men to expect undiscovered 
planets in a certain quarter of the firmament, anal¬ 
ogy, and the known intercourse of God with man¬ 
kind, and our moral sense, incline us to look for 
some symbolic recognition of this earthly constitu- 


AN ORDINANCE FOR CHILDREN. 


11 


ency of heaven by him who ordained and is re¬ 
deeming to himself a church from among men. 
Words of interest and love toward them on the 
part of God, we all know, are not wanting in the 
Bible. Acts of loving-kindness, also, proving the 
sincerity of those words, and reaching even to a 
thousand generations of them that love God, are 
everywhere seen in sacred history. 

But is there no great, conspicuous symbol of 
these things, — no type, no rite ? Symbols appear 
to be inseparable attendants of God’s manifested 
favor to men. He cannot enter into covenant with 
an individual, much less a people, but there is at 
least a stone set up, or a threshing-floor is bought 
for him, an altar is built, or they pour out a horn 
of oil. He invites Ahaz to ask of him a sign of his 
promise: u Ask it,” he says, “ either in the depths, 
or in the height above ; ” and, when that man re¬ 
fuses, God gives him a sign. Emblems, seals and 
types, in the early dispensation, burst forth like im¬ 
ages in the waters of everything along the banks, 
and even of things far off. Everything has its 
memorial, its rite ; are the children, is the parental 
relation, forgotten ? 

Here let us consider that God began with the 


12 


PROBABILITIES OF 


first parents and the first children of the human 
race to set forth that great law of his administra¬ 
tion, the connection of children with parents for 
good or evil. Every descendant of Adam is an 
example under that law. Thus it was for nineteen 
generations,'—from Adam to Abraham. 

When, therefore, God reestablished his church 
at the call of Abraham, it was no new thing to 
connect parents and their children in covenant 
promises and blessings. It had its origin in the 
very nature of man. Abraham, and the covenant 
made with him for all believers and their children, 
are, indeed, a striking illustration of a principle 
recognized and applied by the Most High; but the 
principle itself is older than Abraham,—it is coeval 
with the moral constitution of man. In making a 
covenant with Noah, God included his children; 
so with David, making mention of his house, “ for 
a great while to come.” 

As soon, therefore, as religion was established 
in the earth, by securing its perpetuity through 
the conservative influences of one selected line of 
descent, the child was taken, as being the object 
of the covenant, and the means of its perpetuation, 
and received its seal. God designed to perpetuate 


AN ORDINANCE FOR CHILDREN. 


13 


religion in the earth, thenceforward, chiefly by 
means of the parental relation ; for the parent 
represents God to the child more than any other 
fellow-creatnre, or thing, can do,—more than any 
instituted influence, whether of prophet, priest, 
church, or ritual. Setting up his church for all 
future time, with Abraham for its founder, God 
included children with parents wdio covenanted 
with him, as the objects of special regard and 
promise, and he appointed a rite to mark and seal 
that covenant. Thus it was from Abraham to 
Christ, during three times fourteen generations. 

But the day of types and symbols was suc¬ 
ceeded by another era, in which the church of 
God comes forth with the glory of God risen upon 
her, and all the nebulous matter of types and cere 
monies is gathered together into tw T o permanent 
sacraments ; for human nature was not beyond the 
need and help of outward signs. Now, in the 
earlier of the two ages of the church, the child 
was recognized by a rite of the church; the child, 
with that rite inscribed on him, was the sign- 
bearer of the church’s perpetuity. Yet, in the, age 
following, the child was as dear to the parent as 
ever ; the Christian parent was as much concerned 


14 


PROBABILITIES OF 


to have religion flow through his seed, as were 
his predecessors; the salvation of the child wae 
regarded with the same solicitude, and the princi¬ 
ple of perpetuating religion by the family consti¬ 
tution was still the same. 

But did God withdraw from the children of his 
servants, from the most hopeful of all the sources 
of his church’s increase on earth and in heaven, 
all token of his regard in any sacramental act ? 
Is parental affection, under the reign of Immanuel, 
debarred the enjoyment of one of its most valu¬ 
able privileges, the sealing of the child to be the 
Lord’s by the use of a divinely-appointed symbol ? 
Had no ordinances and symbols been allowed after 
the institution of Christianity, this question would 
not arise; the inference would have been that 
human nature, under the Gospel, will no more 
need the aid of rites in religion. But there are 
Christian rites, expressly and solemnly instituted. 
Is not that most important relation of a believer’s 
child to God perpetuated; and is it not still to be 
sealed by the use of one of the Christian ordi¬ 
nances ? 

In considering this question, and the many inter¬ 
esting topics connected with it, the writer will be 


AN ORDINANCE FOR CHILDREN. 


15 


allowed to take his own way, following an historical 
order in the occurrences which may be supposed 
to have made the subject interesting and clear to 
the minds of two parents. 


$ttn n&. 

The Grandfather’s Letter. 

THE NATURE, GROUNDS, AND INFLUENCE, OF INFANT BAPTISM. 

If temporal estates may be conveyed 
By cov’nants, on condition, 

To men, and to their heirs 5 be not affraid, 

My soule, to rest upon 
The covenant of grace by mercy made. 

George Herbert, — “ The Font." 

— No finite mind can fully comprehend the mysteries into which his baptism 
is the initiation. — Coleridge, — “ Aids &c. 

Christian faith is the perfection of human reason. — Ibid. 

My dear Daughter Bertha : — I am glad that 
you think of taking your little namesake to the 
house of God for baptism. You wish to know my 
views about it in full. My new colleague having 
relieved me of many cares and labors, I shall hope 
to write more frequently, but not often so long a 
letter as T fear this will be; for I wish to tell you 
of some conversations which I have had on the 
subject in question. This will show you the com* 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


17 


moil difficulties, in which, perhaps, you share, and 
my way of removing them; and also set before 
you the privileges and blessings connected with 
the baptism of your child. 

A man and his wife — sensible, plain people — 
came to our house one evening last July, when the 
“ vines with the tender grape gave a goodly smell, : ” 
through that trellis which you and Percival have 
such pleasant reason to remember. We were all 
sitting there in the moonlight, when this Mr. Ben¬ 
son and his wife came up the door-way, and were 
welcomed into our little group. After a few words 
of mutual inquiry and answer, he said: 

“ Wife and I, sir, thought that we would make 
bold to come and trouble you a little to tell us 
about baptizing our boy. He is getting to be four 
months old, and we are not willing to put it off 
much longer. Still, we would like to know the 
grounds of it a little better. People, you know, 
do not think much about it till it comes to be a case 
in hand. 

“ But I do not know,” said he, looking round on 
your mother and the children, u but that we do 
wrong to take this time for it. It will be rather a 
dry subject lor these young friends to hear.” 

2 * 


18 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


Pastor. Not at all. They owe too much to what 
was done for them when they were little children, 
to dislike it. Besides, there is nothing dry about 
it, as I view the subject. It is one of the most 
beautiful things in religion. 

Mrs. Benson. It is next to the Lord’s Supper, 
I always thought, if people take the right view 
of it. 

Pastor. It makes you love God the Father in 
some such way as the Lord’s Supper makes you 
love the Saviour. I think, sometimes, that the 
baptism of children is our heavenly Father’s Sac¬ 
rament. 

Mr. B. I like that; but there is so much to 
study and learn about the “ Abrahamic covenant,” 
that I feel a little discouraged. I have had books 
lent me on the Abrahamic covenant, and I began 
to read them; but they looked hard; so I told my 
wife that perhaps you would make the thing more 
clear, and bring it home to our feelings, and that 
we would come and get your ideas about it. 

Pastor. How glad I am that you came ! But 
tell me what you take the Abrahamic covenant to 
mean. 

Mr. B. I suppose it means that God told Abra- 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTL/L 


19 


ham to circumcise his children, and infant baptism 
comes in the place of it, and we must do it if we 
are Abraham s spiritual children. But I wish to 
see the use of it. 1 am willing to do it, but I 
should like to feel it more; and I want to know 
how baptism comes in the place of circumcision, 
and a great many other things. 

Pastor. I think that you may possibly have what 
may be called some Jewish notions about the Abra- 
hamic covenant, though I trust you are right in 
the main. That phrase sounds foreign and myste¬ 
rious, and I never use it except in talking with 
people who I know have the thing itself already in 
their hearts. 

I called Helen to me, and told her to say the 
hymn which she had repeated to me the last Sab¬ 
bath evening. 

She cleared her voice, leaned against me, and 
twisted her fingers in my hair behind, and, with her 
eyes fixed there, she said this hymn: 


“ Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme, 
And speak some boundless thing * 

The mightier works or mightier name 
Of our eternal King. 


* 


20 THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER. 

“ Tell of his wondrous faithfulness, 

And sound his power abroad ; 

Sing the sweet promise of his grace. 

And the performing God. 

“ Proclaim oalvation from the Lord 
For wretched, dying men ; 

His hand has writ the sacred word 
With an immortal pen. 

“ Engraved as in eternal brass 
The mighty promise shines ; 

Nor can the powers of darkness rase 
Those everlasting lines. 

“ He who can dash whole worlds to death. 
And make them when he please. 

He speaks, and that Almighty breath 
Fulfils his promises. 

* f His very word of grace is strong 
As that which built the skies : 

The voice that rolls the stars along 
Speaks all the promises. 

“ He said, * Let the wide heavens be spread 
And heaven was stretched abi'oad. 

* Abra’am, I ’ll bo thy God,’ he said ; 

And he was Abra’am’s God. 


THE GRANDFATHER^ LETTER. 


21 


* 0, might I hear thy neavenly tongue 
But whisper, «Thou art mine ! * 

Those gentle words should raise my song 
To notes almost divine. 

“ How would my leaping heart rejoice. 

And think my heaven secure ! 

I trust the all-creating voice. 

And faith desires no more.” 

Pastor. What a happy man Abraham must have 
been when the Almighty made this engagement 
and promise : “ I will be a God to thee ” ! That 
was the “ Abrahamic covenant/’ in part. 

“ Does covenant mean that?” said Mrs. B. 

u What?” I inquired. 

“ Why, sir, what you have just said, — engage¬ 
ment, promise ? ” 

11 Nothing ©lore,” said I. “ But what a happy 
man, I say, Abraham must have been ! 1 A God to 
thee ! ’ To have the Almighty say to one, 1 1 will 
be a God to thee ! ’ You know that this is every¬ 
thing.” 

u That is a fact,” said Mr. B., wiping his eyes; 
“ for, when I went to my store, the morning after I 
became a Christian, I went along the street, say¬ 
ing to myself, 'Now I have a God. God is God 
to me. Thou art my God.’ 


22 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


“Yes,” said his wife; “Deacon B., the post¬ 
inaster, heard you, as you went by his side-window, 
and he made an excuse to bring me up a paper, 
that forenoon, and asked whether you had not 
met with a change in your feelings on the subject 
of religion.” 

“ Did he ? ” said Mr. B. “ Well, I did not mean 
to be heard, and yet I was willing that everybody 
should know how happy I was in having one whom 
I could call my God. How I had lived so long 
without God for my God, amazed me.” 

Pastor. You make me think of a man who, one 
night, on reaching his house, after having attended 
a lecture in a school-room, was filled with such 
surprising views and feelings, with respect to the 
greatness and goodness of God, that he saddled his 
horse, rode three miles, waked up*the minister, 
and, as he came to the door, took hold of each arm, 
and said, “ 0, my dear sir, what a God we’ve got! ” 
He would not go in, but soon hastened back. It 
was the substance of all that he wished to say; he 
desired to pour out his soul to some one who 
would understand him. He was like a thirsty 
land when p,t last the great rain is descending. 


THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER. 


23 


Mr. B. I suppose many people would have 
thought him crazy. 

11 1 suspect the minister did, at first,” said Mrs. B. 

“ And yet I suppose,” said I, “ he was never 
more rational. Just think what it is for a poor 
sinner all at once to feel that the eternal God is 
his ; that He will be a God to him! We hear of 
some people dying at the receipt of good news; 
and I have seen some so happy at this experience, 
of having a God to love and to love them, that, if 
the thing itself did not, as it always does, bring 
peace and inward strength with it, nature could 
not have sustained it.” 

“ Joy unspeakable,” said Mr. B. “And full of 
glory,” said his wife, waiting a moment for him to 
finish the quotation. 

“ Now, my dear friends,” said I, “ that man on 
horseback, at his minister's door at midnight, had, 
at that moment, the first part of what is meant by 
the ‘Abrahamic covenant.' How little way do 
these words go toward expressing the thing itself, 
and a man's feelings under it! There was a time 
when God made Abraham far more happy even 
than he did you on your way to the post-office 
that morning.” 


24 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


Helen came along, just then, with a fruit-basket 
of apples, and I said to her, as she was going round 
with them, “ Say again that verse in your hymn, 
which has these words in it, ‘ Thou art mine.’ ” 

So, while Mr. B. was paring his apple, Helen 
stood before him, and said: 

“0, might I hear thy heavenly tongue 
But whisper, ‘ Thou art mine ! ’ 

Those gentle words should raise my song 
To notes almost divine ” 

Mr. B. put his apple and knife down, and took 
his red bandanna handkerchief from under his 
plate, and, wiping his eyes, said: 

“ Hymns always make me feel a good deal, es¬ 
pecially Watts’s. I ’ve read that hymn in meeting 
before the exercises began.” 

Pastor. You know, by happy experience, what 
it is when that heavenly tongue whispers, u Thou 
art mine.” 

Mr. B. I do, sir, if I know anything. 

Pastor. Now, my dear friends, there is some¬ 
thing awaiting you which you seem not to have 
experienced, but which is as good as that. 

“We would like to hear about it,” they both 
replied. 



THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


25 


u How should you like, Mrs. B.,” said I, 11 to have 
your little boy become a sailor ? ” 

u 0 dear! ” said she, “1 should have no peace 
from this time, if I thought he was to be a sailor.” 

u But that,” said I, u may be God’s chosen occu¬ 
pation for him, — the *way in which he will employ 
him to bring him to himself, and then use him to 
be a preacher to seamen, for example, and so to 
scatter the truth in many parts of the earth. We 
are not our own, Mrs. B., and this dear boy was 
not given you, as we say, to keep. 1 For thou hast 
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are 
and were created.’ ” 

u I want him brought up at college,” said Mrs. 
B., looking at your mother, who, she probably 
thought, would understand her motherly anticipa¬ 
tions about her boy so far ahead. 

u Well,” said I, “ let us send him to college. 1 
suspect that you would feel a good deal the morn¬ 
ing he left you, would you not ? ” 

“ 0,” said she, “ I should so want him to be good 
first! If he should not be a good man, I would not 
have him get learning to do harm with it, and make 
himself more miserable hereafter.” 

The little gate, with its chain and ball, swung 
8 



26 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


to at this moment, and a woman and girl came up 
the walk. It was Mrs. Ford, who used to be your 
dress-maker, and her daughter Janette, now about 
thirteen. It was a farewell call from Janette, who 
was going to the neighborhood of Philadelphia, 
into a coach-lace manufactory. 

“ So Janette is going to leave us, to-morrow, 
Mrs. Ford ? ” said your mother. 

“ Yes, madam, and I feel sorely about it; so 
young, and such a way off, and all strangers ex¬ 
cept the foreman, who spoke to me about her 
coming! 0, sir,” said she, changing her undertone, 
and turning to me, “ what should we do without 
that promise, 1 1 will be a God to thee and to thy 
seed after thee ’ ? ” 

I looked at Mr. and Mrs. B., and we all smiled, 
while I said: 

“Now we have got the second part of the 
1 Abrahamic covenant.’ So now we have the 
whole of it. Mrs. Ford, when you came in, we 
were talking about baptizing children, and about 
the 1 Abrahamic covenant.’ What do you under¬ 
stand by that covenant ? ” 

“ I understand by it, sir,” said she, slowly gath¬ 
ering her words into proper order; “ why, I think 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


27 


I understand by it, that God promises to be a God 
to a believer’s child, as he was in such a wonderful 
way to Abraham’^people.” 

Pastor. Well, that is the substance of one part 
of it, at least. Did you know, Mrs. Ford, that when 
you came in we were just entering Mrs. Benson’s 
son at college ? 

Mrs. Ford. Not this Mrs. Benson, of course. 
Whom do you mean, sir? 

Pastor. This Mrs. Benson; — her little son. 

Mrs. Ford. 0, I understand ! Well, you will 
send him to P., I suppose, it is so near. 

“We had not fixed on the college,” said Mrs. 
Benson, with a laugh. 

“ Janette,” said I, “ how do you like the thought 
of going off so far from us all ? ” 

Janette pulled the ends of her plain cotton 
gloves, and her heart was full, so that she could 
not speak for a moment. I was sorry that I had 
asked the question, and therefore added: 

“ You will not go where God cannot take care 
of you and bless you the same as at home, will 
you, dear ? ” 

She lifted her white apron to her eyes, while 
Mrs. Ford said for her: 


28 


THE GRANDFATHERS LETTER. 


“I tell Janette that I gave her up to God in 
baptism; and when her father lay sick, he said, 
‘That child was given to Gocj^in his house; 1 
leave her destitute, and with nothing but her 
hands, but I leave her to a covenant-keeping 
God.’ ” 

“Now,” said I, “here is a dear daughter going 
to a strange place to learn a trade. She knows 
not a soul in the place but the foreman who has 
hired her. A boy is going to college, another to 
sea, another to a distant city. Here is a daughter, 
who receives particular attentions from certain 
young friends, and the probability is that she will 
be asked in marriage; and here is a son, who with 
his parents are in doubt with regard to his future 
occupation and course of life. God only knows 
the feelings of parents at such times. What 
prayers are made in secret, — what vows! One 
wrong step may embitter life. A right step may 
lead to prosperity and great happiness. I some¬ 
times wish that we could gather our children to¬ 
gether, in some of these emergencies and critical 
periods of their lives, and offer up prayers and 
vows, as parents and friends, in their behalf. 
There would not be many meetings more interest- 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


29 


ing than these, Mr. Benson. How the parents of 
such children would love everybody that came at 
such times to pray for their children; and what 
prayers would go up to God ! ” 

u Can we not have some such meetings ? ” said 
Mr. Benson. “Every parent would like it, I am 
sure.” 

Pastor. Well, we do have some such meetings 
occasionally, I remember. 

“ Our minister loves to use parables,” said Mrs. 
Benson, looking at your mother, “ so as to make 
us understand the meaning better, and remember 
it.” 

“ I must ask you to explain,” said Mr. Benson. 

Pastor. As often as we bring a child to the 
house of God for baptism, Mr. Benson, we have 
such a meeting, if Christians will but understand 
it so. We come with the parents, and say, “Lord 
God, here is this dear child, with a momentous his¬ 
tory pending upon thy favor and blessing. In all 
future time, in the critical moments and event¬ 
ful steps of its life, or in its early death, or in its 
orphanage, be thou a God to this child.” If God 
should to-night, Mrs. Ford, say to you, “I will 
3 * 


30 


THE GRANDFATHER S LETTER. 


be Janette’s God/’ would you not send her away 
with a light heart ? 

“ He should have her for life, dear child! ” said 
she; “ and I do feel that he is a God to her.” 

“ He is,” said I, “ if you have really made a cov¬ 
enant with him about your daughter.” 

u I have, sir,” said Mrs. Ford. 

Pastor. Did the covenant have any seal? Some 
good people, you know, think it enough to cove¬ 
nant with God about their children, without using 
any special act to mark and seal it. Now it is 
only in consecrating children to God that they 
omit the seal from the covenant. We practise 
adult baptism, joining the church, confirmation, 
and we partake of the Lord’s Supper, feeling the 
propriety and the use of acts and testimonies in 
the form of an ordinance. What seal had your 
covenanting with God about your child ? 

Mrs. Ford. I see it now clearer than ever. As 
we stood with this child in our arms, we both said, 
afterwards, we made a public profession of religion 
anew; and, when the minister said those sacred 
names over her, I felt more than before that I was 
having transactions with God about the child. 
But people used to say to me, “ Why not wait and 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


31 


let Janette be baptized when she is old enough to 
understand it ? ” How little they knew about it! 
Just as though, I told them, if I had money to put 
into the savings-bank for Janette, I would wait 
and let her put it in herself (it is so pleasant to 
put it in when you know all about it!), instead of 
laying it up for her in the funds, and let it count 
up while she is growing. 

Pastor. Those friends who advised you so, 
think, perhaps, too much of the ceremony itself, 
and not so much of what it signifies. Now the 
pleasure of being baptized is nothing compared 
with having God enter into a covenant in your 
behalf when you knew nothing about it. 

Mrs. Ford. They said to me, also, “ What right 
have you to do it, instead of letting her have the 
choice and privilege of doing it herself hereafter?’’ 
I told them that, if we acted on that principle, in 
the treatment of our children, there would be a 
long list of useful things, which we do for them, to 
be postponed. 

Pastor. We can benefit another without his con¬ 
sent. The question is, whether it is a benefit to a 
child for God and its natural guardians to make a 
covenant together in its behalf. 


32 


THE GRANDFATHER^ LETTER. 


Mr. Benson. It surely is so, if God truly is a 
party to such a covenant. But where is the proof 
that he is ? That is my trouble. They tell me 
that this covenanting Vith God for a child, and 
sealing it with an ordinance, ceased with Abraham, 
who was a Jew; that it was a Jewish custom, 
which died out. 

Pastor. Abraham a mere Jew! God’s cove¬ 
nant with a believer and his children a Jewish 
covenant! Never was there a greater mistake. 

Paul tells us expressly it was not so. Get me a 
Bible, Helen, and bring me a lamp. I read these ^ 
words: u And the promise that he should be heir 
of the world was not to Abraham and his seed 
through the law, but through the righteousness of 
faith.” His relation to the world was independent 
of dispensations; it grew out of that faith which 
he had in common with all believers to the end of 
time. “ And he received the sign of circumcision, 
a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he 
had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be 
the father of all them that believe, though they 
be not circumcised.” Christ also says: 11 Moses, 
therefore, gave unto you circumcision; (not be¬ 
cause it is of Moses, but of the fathers.) ” Abra- 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


33 


ham was not a Jew when God covenanted with 
him, any more than you, madam, were Mrs. Ford, 
when, at the age of sixteen, as you have told me, 
you entered into covenant with God. That cove¬ 
nant had chief respect to your immortal soul, and 
yet it reached in its influences to all the condi¬ 
tions of that soul while here in the flesh. So God 
covenanted with Abraham as a believer, not as a 
mere national ancestor; yet temporal and spiritual 
blessings came in rich measures upon his immedi¬ 
ate descendants. But we read, u So then as many 
as be of faith are blessed with faithful,” that is, be¬ 
lieving, u Abraham.” u And if ye be Christ’s, then 
are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the 
promise.” Can anything be plainer than this ? 

Mrs. Ford. My father was a minister, you know, 
sir, and he used to preach a great deal on this 
subject. 

Pastor. Let us hear your understanding of the3o 
passages, Mrs. Ford. 

“ I am afraid,” said she, “ I cannot tell you just 
what he used to say. But my idea of it is cliis : 
Though Abraham was the founder of the Hebrew 
people, he was no more a Jew than a Gentile in 
his covenant with God, for it was as believer 


34 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


the great believer, that God made a covenant 
with him. So that he was not circumcised as a 
Jew, but, as the Bible says, to have a seal of the 
righteousness which he had by faith. God made a 
covenant with him as a believer, to be his. God 
and the God of his children, as the children of a 
believer, not a Jew; so that all believers are 
blessed with believing Abraham, by having the 
same covenant extended to them. Then, I take it, 
God gave him a sign and seal as a pledge, and to 
remind him of it, and to keep his children in re¬ 
membrance.” She paused, and I said: 

“ PleaSe to go on.” You remember, Bertha, how 
you used to make this Mrs. Ford discuss doctrinal 
matters when she was sewing for you. 

Mrs. Ford. I remember that father said that 
God took the rainbow as a sign and seal of his 
promise, to Noah and all future generations, that 
there should never be another universal deluge. 
So he appointed a children’s ordinance to mark his 
covenant with believers to the end of time. Only 
there was this difference ; the way of signing and 
sealing the covenant not being coupled with the 
laws of nature, but conforming to the kind of sym¬ 
bols successively in use, it was changed, at the 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


35 


time that the Sabbath was changed, and the whole 
of the old dispensation; but father used to say, Is 
the commonwealth and citizenship broken up be¬ 
cause the legislature adopts a new state seal ? 
Does.that destroy all the old public documents? 

Pastor. Good! So the United States’ mint is 
from time to time changing its dies; lately it has 
abolished copper, and substituted equivalent coins 
of different composition. But money does not 
perish. A cent is a cent still, red or white. So, 
whether the seal be blood or water, the great ordi¬ 
nance which it seals remains the same. 

“And now I will tell you,” said I, “how it seems 
to me God’s covenanting with parents for their 
children came to pass. He wished to give Abra¬ 
ham a token and seal of his love to him. So he 
took his child, the thing which he loved best, and 
would see oftenest, and thought of most, and made 
the child, as it were, the tablet on which to write 
his covenant with the father. That was one rea¬ 
son. 1 Because he loved the fathers, therefore he 
chose their seed.’ But this is the least of the rear 
sons in the case. 

“ Here is one of vastly greater importance. God 
wished to perpetuate religion in the earth. He 


36 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


knew that the family constitution would be the 
principal means of doing this, parents teaching 
and commanding their children, and so transmit¬ 
ting religion. Because he knew that Abraham 
would do this, he gave it as a reason for his love 
and confidence in him, in not concealing from him 
his purpose to destroy Sodom. 1 Shall I hide from 
Abraham that thing which I do ? For I know him 
that he will command his children and his house- 
nold after him, and they shall keep the ways of 
the Lord.’ So, in order to remind Abraham of 
what was expected by the Most High in making 
his children the presumptive heirs of grace, and to 
remind the children of it when they came to years 
of understanding, God gave him and them this 
mark and seal.” 

“ Well, then,” said Mr. Benson, “it seems to me 
Abraham was better off than we, if he had God in 
covenant with him for his children, and we have 
not. I sometimes wish that I could have God 
covenant with me about my boy, as Abraham had 
about Isaac.” 

u I should like,” said Mrs. B., u to hear him say, 

1 1 will be a God to him,’ and then tell us to do 
something of his own appointment that should be 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


37 


like our signing and sealing a covenant together, 
as the Lord’s Supper enables us to do with 
Christ.” 

“ If we have no such blessed privilege,” said I, 
“ then, as Abraham desired to see our day, I 
should, in this respect, rejoice to see Abraham’s 
day. I cannot forego the privilege of having God 
in covenant with me for my children as he was 
with Abraham for his; and I crave some divine 
seal affixed to it. 

“You said, Mrs. Benson, that you would like to 
have God promise to be the God of your child, 
and then command you to do something which 
would be like God and you signing and sealing it 
together. But do you think, Mrs. B., that this is 
necessary ? Why is it not enough for God to 
make a promise, and you make one, and let it be 
without any sign or seal ? ” 

“ People don’t do things in that way,” said Mr. 
Benson, with a decided motion, two or three times, 
with his head. u They call a wedding a cere¬ 
mony, it is true, and some say, 1 So long as people 
are engaged to be man and wife, the ceremony 
makes little difference.’ But it does make all the 

difference in the world, — this mere ceremony, as 

4 


38 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


they call it. They never like to dispense with it 
themselves, at least; because, you see, it makes 
all the difference between unlawful, sinful union, 
and marriage. It makes married life ; which could 
not exist, without the ceremony, among decent 
people. It gives a title and ground to a thing 
which could not be without it. So, I begin to see 
and feel, it is with regard to what some call the 
ceremony of baptism. But excuse me, wife, I took 
the answer out of your mouth.” 

“Well,” said Mrs. Benson to me, “I must wait 
upon you, sir, to answer the question further.” 

u Mr. Benson has the right view of the subject,” 
I replied. “ We make too little of signs and seals, 
from a morbid fear and jealousy of those which 
are invented by man and added to religion. But 
God’s own seals are safe and good. We cannot 
make too much of them. 

“ God never did anything with men, from the 
beginning, without signs and seals. The tree of 
life was one, and so was the tree of the knowledge 
of good and evil. Adam and Eve knew better, at 
first, than to say , 1 So long as we love and obey God, 
of what use are these symbols ?’ By not regarding 
symbols afterward, they brought death into oui 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


39 


world and all our woe. Even before that, God had 
appointed a symbol of his authority, and a seal of 
a covenant between him and man forever, in the 
appointment of the Sabbath. The mark on Cain’s 
forehead, the rainbow, the lamp passing between 
the severed parts of Abraham’s sacrifice, Jacob’s 
ladder, the burning bush, the passover, and things 
too numerous to mention, show how God loves 
signs and seals. 

“ There are many good people, at the present 
day, who say to me, I am willing to consecrate my 
child to God in prayer, and bring him up for God; 
but I do not see the necessity of an ordinance. 
Why bring the child to baptism? I can do all 
which is required and signified, without the sign.” 

“ What do you say to them ?” said Mrs. Ford. 

Pastor. I tell them they are on dangerous 
ground. Will they be wiser than God ? He knows 
our natures, and what to prescribe to us in our 
intercourse with him. I would as soon meddle 
with a law of nature, as with God’s ordinances. I 
might as well neglect a law of nature, and think to 
be safe and well, as to neglect one of God’s ordi¬ 
nances, and expect his blessing. 

People, moreover, may as well object to family 


40 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


prayer, and say that they try to live in a spirit of 
prayer all day. Why do they have special seasons 
for retirement, if they walk with God ? Why do 
they hardly feel that they have prayed if company, 
or a bedfellow, on a journey, keeps them from 
using oral prayer ? It is a bitter grief, also, when 
no funeral solemnities lead the way to the grave 
with a beloved object; yet, where in the word of 
God are they commanded? As Mr. Benson said, 
“ Who is willing to dispense with the wedding cere¬ 
mony, except in cases where sadness and trouble 
seek concealment ? ” 

People cannot give full evidence that they are 
Christians unless they make a public profession of 
religion. They cannot properly remember Jesus 
without partaking of his body and blood. Depend 
upon it, my dear friends, God sets great value on 
ordinances, and our observance of them. God has 
given us two sacraments, and he who dispenses 
with them because he undervalues them, or under¬ 
takes to say that they are not necessary to him, or 
to any in this age of the world, is in peril. The 
only danger from forms and ordinances is when 
they are of human origin. We must take care and 
not let our revulsion from Romanism carry us to 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


41 


the extreme of neglecting or setting aside the ordi¬ 
nances of God’s appointment. “ There are three that 
bear record on earth, the Spirit, and the water, 
and the blood ; and these three agree in one.” A 
man may, with equal propriety, dispense with the 
blood, and its symbol the wine, or with the Spirit, 
as with the water, if God has appointed it with the 
other two as a witness between him and us. You 
notice that the Spirit is named with the two inani¬ 
mate things, the blood and the water. Take care, 
I say to my friends, lest, in setting aside the water, 
you shut out that divine Spirit, who, knowing how 
to deal with our nature, chooses the blood and the 
water to be used by us in connection with our 
most spiritual religious exercises of the mind and 
heart. We have no more right to interfere with 
God’s ordinances than with the number of the per¬ 
sons in the Trinity. 

u All this affects me so,” said Mr. Benson, u that 
I shall not fail to offer my child to be baptized, if I 
am allowed to do so* Now, there is my difficulty. 
Why do you think, and how do you show, that bap¬ 
tism must now be used as God’s sign and seal of 
his covenant with believers for their children ? 
When circumcision was dropped, some insist that 
4 * 


42 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


the covenant was dropped with it, and, therefore, 
that there is no warrant in Scripture for baptizing 
children.” 

“ Why,” said Mrs. Ford, “ if the coming in of 
Moses’ dispensation did not abolish the arrange¬ 
ment with Abraham, why should its going out ? I 
am inclined to think that Abraham and his seed 
are, to Moses and his dispensation, something like 
that vine to the trellis, running over it to the top 
of the piazza, bending itself in, you see, to accom¬ 
modate itself, but having a root and a top, the one 
below, the other above, the short frame, which only 
guides it up to the roof. In the eleventh of Ko- 
mans does not Paul say that Jews and Gentiles 
have one and the same 1 root ’ ? I always supposed 
that root to be Abraham and his covenant.” 

I did not quote Latin to my friends, but I 
thought of the old law-maxim, Manente ratione, 
manet ipsa lex — which, if your scholarship is not 
at hand to translate it, Percival will tell you, means, 
“ The reason for a law remaining, the law itself also 
remains.” It is used in such cases as the following: 
When one would insist that a law was intended to 
be repealed by the operation of another law, not 
directly or expressly aimed to repeal it, it is a good 


THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER. 


43 


reply, If the original reason for enacting the old 
law can be shown still to exist, it is strong pre¬ 
sumptive evidence that there was no intention to 
repeal that law. I explained this, in as simple 
language as I could, to my excellent friends, and 
told them, “ If God’s covenant, which circumcision 
sealed, were Mosaic, and therefore national, Jew¬ 
ish, we should presume that it ceased with the 
Jewish nation; or, if it continued, that it was 
restricted to their posterity. But why should 
God bestow his inestimable blessing on the father 
of the faithful, and take it away from the faithful 
themselves'? We love our children, as Abraham 
did his. It is as important to us that God should 
be the God of our seed, as it was to Abraham. My 
heart yearns after that covenanting God in behalf 
of my children.” 

u I will give up thinking of Abraham as a Jew,” 
said Mrs. Benson. 

16 What was he, then ? ” said I, “ or what will he 
be to you, from this time ? ” 

11 He was the head of believers,” said she, “ just 
as Adam was the head of men. As Mrs. Ford said, 
he was the great believer; and I am persuaded 


4.4 


THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER. 


that all who are of faith have his privileges, and 
more too ; but certainly all that he had .’ 7 

“ But, my dear/’ said your mother, “ you have 
forgotten the question. Supposing that the cove¬ 
nant still remains, why do you take baptism for 
the seal of it ? The old way of sealing it is given 
up. What authority do you show for using bap¬ 
tism in its place ? ” 

“ I take the initiating ordinance of religion for 
the time being,” said I, “ whatever it may be. Is 
not baptism the initiating ordinance, as circumci¬ 
sion was ? When they built our long bridge, and 
the ferry-boats ceased running, did the town put 
up a great sign over the gate, saying, 1 It is enacted 
that this river shall continue to be crossed ’ ? Did 
they add, 1 This bridge is hereby appointed as the 
way of getting over the river’? Or, did not 
people take it for granted, when the bridge was 
opened and the ferry-boats were withdrawn, that 
the bridge was designed to be the way by which 
they were to pass over the river ? 

“ Now, suppose so impossible a thing as this, 
that hereafter baptism should, by divine revela¬ 
tion, be changed for anointing with oil, and noth¬ 
ing were said about children. I would anoint the 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


45 


child with oil, instead of baptizing it with water. 
We are to nse the initiatory rite of the church for 
the time being.” 

II But,” said Mrs. Benson, 11 is there any resem¬ 
blance between circumcision and baptism ? ” 

“ There need be none,” said I. u Resemblance 
does not give it efficacy, but God’s appointment 
of it. If marking the flesh in some way should be 
appointed to succeed baptism, we need not look 
for a likeness between it and baptism before we 
complied with the divine requirement.” 

II I do wish,” said Mrs. Benson, 11 that the au¬ 
thority to baptize children were more expressly 
stated in the Bible, to satisfy all who were not 
brought up as we have been.” 

Pastor. The overwhelming majority of those 
who now receive the Bible as the word of God 
find it there. 

Mrs. Benson. But why did not Paul receive a 
revelation about it, as he did about the Lord’s 
Supper ? 

Pastor. Did that make the thing any more au¬ 
thoritative with us than the original appointment ? 
We will not prescribe to God how to teach us. 
We will not make up our minds how he ought to 


4:0 THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 

have made a revelation, but we will take that rev 
elation and try to understand it. 

11 1 agree to that,” said they all. 

Pastor. It appears to me that God prefers, on 
certain subjects, that the world shall reason by 
inferences. It is a wise way of educating children 
and youth, to leave some things to be learned in 
this way, and not by setting everything before 
them, like too many examples in the arithmetic 
wrought out. 

We have changed the Sabbath from the seventh 
to the first day in the week. It gives me a sub¬ 
lime idea of our Sabbath, that by some great, 
silent alteration, it has come to pass that all the 
world keep the day of Christ’s resurrection, in¬ 
stead of the day which commemorated the work 
of creation. I feel toward it as I do with regard 
to the noiseless changes of the seasons, and the 
conformity of our habits and practices to them. I 
left New York late in winter for the Azores, and, 
before I expected it, the warm southern airs came 
one morning into my cabin window. So the 
Christian Sabbath, with its beautiful associations, 
flowed in upon the world without a formal procla¬ 
mation. I feel thankful to God for so regarding 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


47 


our intelligent natures, as to leave some things, 
relating to ordinances, modes, and forms, to be 
inferred, bringing great changes over the moral 
and spiritual world, and leaving us to adjust our¬ 
selves and the administration of the appointed 
ordinances to them. We can add nothing, we 
take nothing away from an express, divine com¬ 
mand ; but, as the first disciples were left to infer 
that a Sabbath was as necessary after Christ 
brought in the new creation as before, and ad¬ 
justed it to the celebration of the Saviour’s rising 
from the dead, so we infer that God’s covenant 
* with believing parents for their children is as 
desirable now as ever; that all the original reasons 
for it now exist; and, therefore, we take the initi¬ 
ating ordinance of religion now, as the church in 
former ages did, and apply it to the children. All 
church-members did it before Christ; all church- 
members may do it now. God saw fit to make 
every adult member, at least, of the Jewish family, 
a church-member; if he has changed and restricted 
the terms of church-membership now, that is a suf¬ 
ficient reason for not making the sealing of chil¬ 
dren as universal now as it was before. That is 


48 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


to say, in both cases, it is a church-member’s priv¬ 
ilege. 

Without detailing the conversation at this point, 
let me say, I take it for granted that Abraham, as 
my great spiritual ancestor, my representative be¬ 
fore God, my commissioner to receive for me and 
transmit my privileges and blessings, continues in 
that relation unless expressly set aside. Christ 
did not set him aside. How wonderfully he is 
brought forward under the new dispensation, when 
it is said to us, 11 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye 
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the prom¬ 
ise.” But, pray, why should Abraham be intruded' 
in connection with Christ, if he with his covenant 
is like a lapsed legacy, or a superseded act of Con¬ 
gress ? Why comes he here, in connection with 
the Saviour, and tells me that if I am Christ’s, then 
am I his, Abraham’s, seed ? Hear this: u Christ 
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being 
made a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham 
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.” 
Wonderful elevation of Abraham and his blessing, 
as the great type of all that Christ was to procure 
for us ! If Abraham and his covenant ceased with 
the Jewish people, how does the blessing of Abra- 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


40 


ham fully come upon us, the Gentiles ? But give 
me his covenant for my children; then I see that 
Christ is executor of the testament made with 
Abraham for his children ; and I am one of the 
heirs; as indeed I am, even if I have no children, 
hut if I have, all of Abraham’s privileges and his 
covenanting God are mine and theirs. 

So that, I said to my friends, I go to the Bible 
not to say, “ Must I baptize my children ? ” but, 
“ Am I forbidden to baptize them ?” 

All my predecessors in the church of God, 
before Christ, had the privilege of bringing their 
children into the bonds of the covenant with them¬ 
selves. If they felt as we do about it (and strict 
usage, and the rich experience which they had had 
of its benefits, must have made it inestimably pre¬ 
cious to them), it is incredible that a sudden and 
total discontinuance of it, at the beginning of 
Christianity, should not have occasioned great 
clamor. The formalists, at least, would have re¬ 
monstrated at the seeming violation, by this new 
order of things, of natural affection. For, as Dod¬ 
dridge well observes, u What would have been 
done with the infants, or male children, of Chris¬ 
tians?”— that is, of converted Jews, as well as 
5 


50 


THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER. 


others. They could not circumcise them; but 
their teachers, being spiritually-minded men, knew 
that circumcision was a seal of faith, not merely of 
nationality, and must not the converts have re¬ 
quired some sign and symbol still for their chil¬ 
dren? Now they had long been used to the bap¬ 
tism of proselytes and their children; so that bap¬ 
tizing their own children, as a substitute for cir¬ 
cumcising them, could not have been a violent 
change with those whom Peter’s vision of the 
sheet had taught that the Gentiles should be fellow- 
heirs. And when he, in one of his first sermons, 
said to the whole house of Israel, “ Ye are the chil¬ 
dren of the covenant,” and “ The promise is unto 
you and to your children,” we can account for 
their utter silence as to any revocation by Chris¬ 
tianity of the right and privilege of applying the 
initiatory ordinance of religion, for the time being, 
to a believer’s child. 

“ But,” said Mr. Benson, “ the Saviour said, ‘ He 
that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved.’ The 
apostles said, 1 Repent and be baptized, every one 
of you.’ Show us, now, why this does not prove 
that repentance and faith were not thus made essen¬ 
tial to baptism. According to these passages, 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


51 


none could be baptized who had not repented and 
believed. This would exclude infants. 1 Believe, 
and be baptized; ’ how do you dispose of that, 
sir?” 

“Very easily,” said I. 

Mrs. Benson exclaimed, “ 0, sir, if you can, all 
my difficulty is at an end ! ” 

“Well, then,” said I, “in the first place, there is 
no such requirement in the Bible. You see the 
expression very often, but it is not found in Scrip¬ 
ture. But tell me exactly what your difficulty is.” , 

“ Why,” said she, “ my husband has just stated 
it. People tell us the Bible says, 1 He that believ- 
eth, and is baptized, shall be saved.’ So they insist 
that no one should be baptized who is not old 
enough to believe.” 

I told her that I could remove her difficulty in 
very few words. 

“ Suppose,” said I, “ that Abraham is preaching 
to full-grown men in Canaan, and is trying to pros¬ 
elyte them from their idolatry to the worship of 
God. He would say to them, 1 Believe and be cir¬ 
cumcised/ would he not ? for God ordained that 
certain proselytes should be circumcised.” 

1 Yes, sir,” said two or three voices at once. 


62 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


“ Well, then,” said I, “must it follow that chil¬ 
dren could not be circumcised because Abraham 
said to men, ‘ Believe and be circumcised ’ ? How 
will that reasoning answer? Is it true? No. 
Little Isaac refuted it, for he was circumcised even 
when his father was saying to his pagan neighbors, 
1 Believe and be circumcised.’” 

“ True enough, all who believed, in Christ’s day 
and the apostles’, needed to be baptized, because 
they were not children, but were grown up, when 
Christian baptism began. Had an apostle, how¬ 
ever, lived to see the jailer’s family, and that of 
Lydia, and of Stephanas, grown up, and any in 
those families had remained unconverted, and then 
he had said to them, 1 Believe and be baptized,’ 
there would be some force in saying that believing 
and baptism must always go together.” 

“ One other thing always troubled me,” said Mr. 
Benson, “ and that is, that there was no seal of the 
covenant for any but male children. Now, if the 
initiatory rite of Christianity be used for the same 
purpose as that given to Abraham, why not con¬ 
fine it, as formerly, to males ? ” 

“ How interesting it is,” said I, “ and it is full 
of instruction, to see God paying regard to the 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


53 


world’s knowledge and progress, in all his meas¬ 
ures, and doing nothing prematurely. There is a 
very striking illustration of this in the account of 
the fall. 

“ God knew the history of the tempter during 
his agency in Paradise; for angels had sinned and 
fallen from heaven. But the existence and agency 
of fallen spirits had not been disclosed in the Bible, 
— the time for the disclosure had not come, — and 
therefore it is said, with beautiful simplicity, 1 Now 
the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the 
field which the Lord God had made ; ’ and the nar¬ 
rative has respect only to the external appearance 
of the tempter, the serpent, because it would 
have been premature as yet to bring in the story 
of fallen angels, or make allusion to them. 

11 So, for reasons belonging to the early ages of 
the world, woman was included in man, who acted 
for her.* 

* A curious reason for this, in the minds of some, appears to he 
that, when man was created, woman was included in him. For, they 
say, in the first chapter of Genesis, and in the account of the sixth 
day, before woman was made, the plural word them, is used : “ male 
and female created he them.” They say that the blessing was pro¬ 
nounced on the man and woman in Adam. For they think it im¬ 
probable that Moses would anticipate his history so much as to bring 

5 * 


54 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


“ But, however the arrangement began, God 
regarded that organic law of society, and, in giv¬ 
ing Abraham a seal of a covenant for his children, 
he restricted it to the sons, they in all things 
standing and acting as the representatives of the 
house, according to the existing custom. God did 
not go far beyond the world’s advancement, in his 
ordinances, but, with condescension and in wisdom, 
suited the one to the other. But, as. things were 
then generally represented by types, so the male 
child was a type and representative of the more 
full and complete form, which was reserved till the 
fulness of time, and till the world should know 
the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. For 
‘in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, 
male nor female.’ ” 

So I discoursed with my visitors till between 
ten and eleven o’clock, and when they rose to go, 
we all stood up together and joined in prayer. 


in woman, and, witlial, her blessing, too, at the sixth day, when the 
narrative teaches that she was made, some time afterwards. Hence, 
they say, it was that woman was for ages treated as included in man. 
There is something pleasing in this fancy, but it seems like one of 
Origen’s allegories, he being the father of allegorical interpretation, 
[t had its origin in an ancient Rabbinical sentiment. 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


55 


We commended Janette to her covenant-keeping 
God, whose name had been inscribed upon her. 
We remembered the little boy wdio had been the 
occasion of all this pleasant conversation, and 
prayed that his consecration might be accepted, 
and the sign and seal of it be owned and blessed 
to him and his parents. As I walked down to the 
gate with my friends, I said to them, that, when 
God was covenanting with Abraham, he bade him 
look up into the heavens, and count the stars, and 
told him that his seed, like them, should be innu¬ 
merable. So I told them frequently to look up 
to those old heavens, and remember that the cove¬ 
nant-keeping God is there, the same who, in bless¬ 
ing Abraham, included his seed; and that, because 
Abraham was so good a man, God calls his pos¬ 
terity “ the seed of Abraham my friend.” And so 
we said good-night. 

. In reading over what I have written, there are a 
few things more which I feel disposed to add, be¬ 
cause I know that Percival will make good use of 
them in talking with others in your congregation. 

I feel, more than I can express, that the state of 
mind in parents which will make them prize and use 
the ordinance of baptism for their children is the 


56 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


great want of our day. Bringing .children to 
church, and baptizing them, unless the parents are 
themselves in covenant with God, is as wrong as 
it was for those earthly-minded Corinthians, whom 
Paul rebukes, to eat the Lord’s Supper. They 
made a feast, or a meal, of the supper; and some 
use baptism just to give a child a name,—to “ chris¬ 
ten” it, as they say,— in mere compliance with a 
custom. But the abuse of a thing is no valid 
argument against it. The last supper is the sub¬ 
ject of far more perversion; it gives occasion to a 
vast amount of superstition and folly. The pro¬ 
cession of the host, the elevation of the host, the 
laying of the wafer on the tongue, the solemn in¬ 
junctions against spitting for a certain time after 
receiving it, are no valid arguments against the 
Lord’s Supper, and no Christian is led by them to 
disregard the words of the Lord Jesus, “ This do in 
remembrance of me.” Much of the practical benefit 
of the Supper comes through the feelings which it 
awakens, the conduct which it promotes. So with 
infant baptism. The child must be truly consecrated 
to God, beforehand, and afterwards; and the ordi¬ 
nance must be used as a sign and seal on our part, 
as it is on the part of God, — an act and testimony, 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


57 


a memorial, a vow. Hannah lent her child to the 
Lord from the beginning, and then brought him to 
the temple, with her offerings. We must take the 
child from baptism as though God had placed it a 
second time in our hands, to be trained up for him. 

But, still, the ordinance is God’s, and not man’s. 
He has a work to do in us by means of it, while it 
also helps our feelings, fixes them, makes them 
vivid, and imposes solemn obligations upon us by 
its signified vow. So it is with thn Lord’s Supper. 
In each case it is God’s memorial, and not ours ; and 
its benefit does not consist so much in showing 
forth the state of our hearts at the time of admin¬ 
istration, as in sealing to us the promises of God. 

True, our feelings are awakened and strength¬ 
ened, ordinarily, by the ordinances; but that 
neither explains nor limits the meaning of them. 
We are wrong if we suppose that the Lord’s Sup¬ 
per has done no good unless our feelings are vivid 
at the time of partaking. If we were sincere, our 
act had the effect to engage and seal blessings 
from God of which we were not aware, and may 
never be able to trace them back to that transac 
tion. So with regard to baptism. 

Some call this sacerdotalism, and are afraid to 


58 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


allow that the sacraments have any influence or 
use ; except as a testimony from us to God. Ro¬ 
manism has driven us to the opposite extreme in 
our ideas of sacraments. We do not vibrate back 
again too far toward Romanism, if now we con¬ 
clude that God employs his sacraments, properly 
received by us, as seals from him of love and prom¬ 
ises. Many Christians derive less comfort and help 
from the Lord’s Supper than they may, because 
they regard it as profitable only so far as they can 
offer it to God with vivid feelings on their part; 
and, when their frames are not as they desire, they 
conclude that the ordinance is unprofitable. But 
let us also consider who appointed this ordinance. 
It is the appointment of Christ, not ours; and at 
his table we are his guests, not he ours. The 
Saviour is well represented as saying to us, 

“ Thou canst not entertain a king ! 

Unworthy thou of such a guest ; 

But I my own provision bring, 

To make thy soul a heavenly feast. * * 

There is a divine side to sacraments, as there 
is a divine side in conversion. While we are 
active in regeneration, there is a work of God 
wrought in us distinct from our faith and repent- 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


59 


ance, yet inseparable from it. So, while sacra¬ 
ments are vows on our part to God, they are, 
primarily, gifts, pledges, seals, on his part to us. 
Therefore, when one says, “I can bring up my 
children, I can be a Christian, without the use of 
sacraments,” it is a proper reply, “ But can God do 
his part toward your children, and toward you, 
without them?” For, not only is prayer “the offer¬ 
ing up of our desires to God for things agreeable 
to his will,” but there is the additional truth, which 
is well expressed in those lines of a hymn: 

“ Prayer is appointed to convey 
The blessings God designs to give.” 

So with sacraments; they convey gifts from God, 
not primarily gifts from us to God. 

He, then, who declines to have his children 
baptized, on the ground that it is useless, may, in 
so doing, interrupt the communication of a di¬ 
vinely-appointed medium between God and his 
child. For he need not be told that the faith of 
parents brought blessings from the Saviour, when 
on earth, to their children, nor be reminded that 
the benefits of circumcision were bestowed on the 
ground of the parental relation to God. 


60 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


One further illustration occurs to me of the 
power which resides in the sacraments themselves, 
in distinction from their being a testimony from us 
to God. Let me call to your remembrance notices 
which you sometimes see, of young people going, 
in a frolic, before a clergyman or justice of the 
peace, to be married, when they intended nothing 
but sport, and found, afterward, that they had 
brought themselves into difficulty, and were legally 
held to be married. 

You see by this that covenants do not, by any 
means, derive all their efficacy from the feelings 
of a contracting party. Covenants and their seals 
are the most sacred of all human transactions, and 
cannot be lightly regarded, or trifled with. God 
reveals himself often under the name of the God 
that keepeth covenant. So that we may not set 
aside the sacraments, nor undervalue them. This 
leads me to say, furthermore, that children, who 
doubt whether their parents sincerely and truly 
offered them to God in baptism, the parents being 
in an unregenerate state, as it afterward appeared, 
when they came with their children to the ordi¬ 
nance, may be greatly comforted and encouraged 
by taking this view of the divine sacrament of 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


61 


baptism as having a force and application in their 
behalf, by the goodness of God, irrespective of 
their parents’ character. God will not let his sac¬ 
raments depend, for their efficacy, on the charac¬ 
ter either of the administrator or of the parents. 
For, if the character of an administrator affected 
the baptism, it might so happen that one could 
never really be baptized, since every successive 
hand which applied it might prove, in turn, to be 
that of an unworthy person. If a child is baptized 
on the profession of parents who afterward show 
that they were not sincere, the child shall not 
suffer thereby, if he recognizes the transaction, and 
makes it his own act. In the case of a converted 
husband or wife, while one companion remained a 
heathen, the children were, nevertheless, counted 
11 holy,” because the Gospel leaned to the side of 
mercy, and gave the children the benefit of the be¬ 
lieving parent’s faith, instead of attainting them 
through the heathen parent. So, when a child is 
baptized in error, he shall not suffer, nor even lose 
anything, if he will accept the covenant with its 
seal. No one can justly reply to all this, that, there¬ 
fore, every one even though not of the church, may 
offer his child for baptism. No ; for these are ex- 


62 


THE GRANDFATHERS LETTER. 


ceptional cases, in which it is true that a covenant, 
even if it be not fulfilled, has force, and things may 
enure under it which one who does not make the 
required profession cannot receive. The covenant, 
if but the outward conditions be complied with, 
places all, who are in any way related to it, under 
various contingencies, which sometimes, to some 
of the parties, may be productive of good. We 
see illustrations of this in the great tenderness 
and love which we feel toward a child whose 
parent has brought a stain upon himself and his 
family. We find an echo, in our hearts, of those 
kind words of the Most High, “ The son shall not 
bear the iniquity of the father ; ” and, if that son 
behaves himself worthily, every good man is 
doubly careful to protect and help him. In this 
way the broken, or unfulfilled, covenant operates, 
with God and with man, to the good of some re¬ 
lated to it. But shall we, therefore, break our 
covenant ? Shall the unworthy be promiscuously 
admitted to its privileges ? “ Shall we continue in 
sin that grace may abound ? ” 

In speaking of the influence of sacraments, I 
am aware that we approach enchanted ground. 
The human heart loves a religion of forms and 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


63 


ceremonies, which professes to renew and save 
without self-denial, breathing around us the quiet¬ 
ism of ordinances, and lulling us to drowsy forget¬ 
fulness of duty in the* luxurious enjoyment of an 
irresponsible religion. While, therefore, we can¬ 
not too carefully guard against the abuse of ordi¬ 
nances, we must not forget that God, who made 
man, body and soul, chooses to convey some of 
his gracious operations to us by the help of the 
two simple sacraments, and that they are intended 
to act upon us, in the hands of his Spirit, in the 
first instance; not merely serving as offerings to 
God. 

It is not that there are fewer children baptized 
now than formerly (if such indeed be the case), 
that awakens sorrow and apprehension; but that 
parents are deficient in the feelings which make 
us prize and use baptism. This is the evil sign, 
and it is greatly to be deplored. One must have 
intelligent views of the Scriptures as a whole, — 
of both Testaments,— most fully to understand and 
value infant baptism; for its roots were planted 
in the Old Testament. I always feel deep respect 
for a church-member who comprehends this sub¬ 
ject in its wide relations, and is not swayed by 


64 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


the popular demand for an express sign at every 
step, but can reason inferentially as well as when 
proofs are demonstrative and palpable ; and who 
has in his mind the whole system of redemption, 
with its various economies, interdependent, and 
none made perfect without the rest. When all 
our church-members come to understand and feel 
the power of this subject in this manner, what 
times of enlightened religious prosperity, and a 
high state of religious culture, it will indicate. I 
pray and wait for the time when all our Psedo- 
baptist churches, of every name, will conspire to 
promote spiritual views of children’s baptism, 
holding it forth as the expression of spiritual 
feelings, and discountenancing formalism in con¬ 
nection with it. Though I was never an Episco¬ 
palian in my preferences, and though the appoint¬ 
ment of godfathers and godmothers may, like 
every good thing, relapse into mere form, I honor 
it for its excellent and pious design of surround¬ 
ing the parents and the children with admonition 
and help. For there are sponsors, I am happy te 
know, who are not mere formalists, but who make 
it a rule to have an interview with their godchil¬ 
dren on or near their birthdays, or the anniversa- 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


65 


ries of their baptisms, and, in an affectionate, faith¬ 
ful manner, they endeavor to fulfil the vows which 
they took upon themselves at the baptism. Bless¬ 
ings on such faithful Christian friends ! Happy 
the children who have them for helpers of their 
faith and piety. Let us all, as church-members, be 
sponsors, at least by prayers and a kind interest 
for it, to every ‘child of a Christian brother or 
sister, when we witness its baptism. Suppose a 
church-member, after witnessing the baptism of an 
infant, its parents, perhaps, entire strangers, goes 
to his place of private prayer, and, moved with 
disinterested love toward those parents and the 
child, supplicates the blessing of God upon them. 
Could Christian love be more pure than this, or 
prayer more pleasing to God ? In the revelations 
of eternity such prayers will not only be rewarded 
openly by Him who saw those doors shut with 
that secret love and piety, but blessings upon 
parents and child without measure may be traced 
to such petitions as their procuring cause. How 
^good it is to perform such acts, knowing that they 
can never come abroad in this world! Should 
every Christian who witnesses the baptism of a 
child, afterward pray for that immortal soul in 
6 * 


66 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


secret, with special petitions, what an increased 
privilege and blessing it would be esteemed to 
offer a child in baptism, and in God’s house, be¬ 
fore a witnessing church, rather than at home ! I 
hope, my dear daughter, that you and Percival, as 
private Christians, will do good to your own souls, 
and to the souls of baptized children, and to their 
parents, by making it one of yt>ur private rules 
to pray in secret, on the Sabbath, for every child 
whose baptism you witness. 

The effort to promote and enforce infant bap¬ 
tism, by ecclesiastical enactments merely, is ab¬ 
surd. We must fertilize the soil, not spread glass 
sashes over the plants. Give Christians right 
views and feelings about their covenant privileges 
and duties ; disabuse them of their mistakes about 
the severance of the Old Testament from the New; 
teach them to look at Abraham, not as a decayed 
peer, or an old Jew, but as the founder of the 
church of all ages, to whom Almighty God virtu¬ 
ally said, 1 On this rock I will build jny church,’ — 
Abraham being the first foundation stone, waiting 
for apostles to be added with him, and, as our 
great representative, bearing in his hand the cov¬ 
enant made with him for us, as well as for the 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


67 


other great branch of the family of God; show 
them that baptism is now the initiating ordinance, 
and that the old covenant was never repealed, 
though the seal be changed; let them see what it 
is to have God in covenant with them to be the 
God of their seed; and, withal, let us correct, or 
modify, the intense anti-papal jealousy of fhe 
Christian rites, which makes us all, unconscious¬ 
ly, verge to the opposite extreme, thus missing 
the divinely-appointed intention and use which 
there is in our two simple ordinances; and then, 
with the revival of such spiritual views and feel¬ 
ings, and, as a consequence, with greater refer¬ 
ence in the prayers of Christians, public and pri¬ 
vate, to the subject, the practice of children’s bap¬ 
tism will increase, as surely as accessions to the 
Lord’s table increase when people come to have 
Christ in them the hope of glory. 

We, ministers, can do very much to promote a 
love for the ordinance in many ways. We ought 
to make it convenient and pleasant by all the 
expedients within our power. I like the practice 
which you speak of, in your church, of the 
mother remaining with the child in the anteroom 
till the introductory services and the loud organ- 


68 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


playing are over. Does your pastor pour water 
into the child’s face and eyes, and then begin the 
words of baptism? I presume not; but I have 
seen it done. We should not touch the child’s 
head till near the close of the baptismal formula; 
and then so that the child will not see the arm 
move toward it. 

Much can be done by these simple expedients 
to promote a quiet and pleasant attendance upon 
the delightful rite. I like the practice, in your 
church, of chanting low some appropriate words 
of Scripture before and after the baptism. 

I am constrained to say, though with diffidence, 
that I fear some of my good brethren give erro¬ 
neous impressions by what they say of the 
church-membership of children. They push it 
to extremes. They discuss the question, What 
shall be done with baptized children, who, on 
arriving at years of understanding, refuse to 
enter into covenant with God ? Church censures 
are asserted by some to be proper in such cases, 
even to excommunication, or interference in some 
judicial way by the church. So long as I believe 
in regeneration by the Holy Spirit, I cannot feel 
that baptized children, as such, are, in any sense 



THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


69 


whatever, in which the term is generally received 
among men, members of the church of Christ; 
while, in another and most important sense, they 
do belong to the church, hold a relation to it, and 
are a part of it. Strictly speaking, and in the 
highest spiritual sense, they are not even “ the 
lambs of Christ’s flock.;” for lambs have the 
nature of sheep; but the children of believers 
are, by nature, children of wrath, even as others. 
And yet, in another sense, they hold a most im¬ 
portant relation to the flock of Christ, as no other 
children do. In its most important sense, they 
are not to the church even what they are to the 
state; they have no place whatever in the invis¬ 
ible church, — the church which is saved, — till 
they are born again. If children are regenerated 
by the act of baptism, of course it is otherwise; 
but, not believing this, I am clear that the bap¬ 
tized child of a believer differs from any other 
unregenerate child, who is not baptized, only in 
this: that God looks upon it with peculiar interest 
and love, and that it is surrounded with special 
and peculiar privileges, opportunities, promises, 
and hopes, with regard to its being brought to 
repentance and saving faith in Christ: and by 


70 


THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER. 


baptism it is initiated into special relationship to 
the people of God. The church also has special 
duties with regard to it. Some of my brethren 
give great occasion to those who resist children's 
baptism,, to argue against it as Romish in its 
nature and effect, by not discriminating clearly in 
using the words members and membership in con¬ 
nection with children. Read almost any modern 
book against infant baptism, and you will find that 
its main force is directed against the practice as a 
u church and state” institution, and as making 
persons members of the .church by means of sac¬ 
raments. Let us who are really free from such 
imputation, assert the truly spiritual nature and 
object of this ordinance. I wish to see it divested 
of all that does not belong to it, made eminently 
spiritual, expressed in terms which cannot easily 
be misunderstood, and appealing to the natural 
affections, the understandings, the consciences, of 
spiritual men and women, as, in its sober and 
legitimate use, God's great appointment, from the 
call of Abraham to the millennium, for the increase 
and perpetuity of his church.* 

* This subject is discussed by itself, and more at large, in another 
part of this book. 




THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


71 


You are aware that the great question, which 
has made most of the trouble in die Christian 
church from the beginning^ relates to the meaning 
and use of sacraments and ordinances, or what 
we call Symbolism. The tendency of the human 
mind, even in Paul’s day, as indicated by him, with 
other things belonging to it, under the name of 
“ the mystery of iniquity, which doth even now 
work,” was, to increase the number of sacraments 
and ordinances, and make them bear an essential 
part in the work of regeneration. The right to 
multiply or extend them, and the claim that they 
possess a saving efficacy, characterizes one great 
division of the professed Christian church, while 
those who are called Protestants and the Reformed, 
regard them chiefly as signs; though of these, 
some seem to have much of that appetency after 
undue reliance on forms which Paul seeks to 
correct in the Epistle to the Galatians, while oth¬ 
ers go to an opposite extreme, and undervalue 
the two divinely-appointed sacraments, which they 
think have no efficiency as used by the Spirit of 
God, but only as signs used by us to represent 
something. 

Between these divisions of the Christian church 


72 


THE GRANDFATHER'S LETTER. 


lies the battle-ground of great ecclesiastical con¬ 
troversies from the beginning, as the Netherlands 
were, for a long time, the battle-field of Europe. 
Archbishop Leighton seems to strike the balance 
between formalism and sacramental grace in 
ordinances, as well as any writer, in commenting on 
these words of Peter, “ The like figure whereunto, 
even baptism, doth also now save us.” He says: 

“ Thus, then, we have a true account of the 

power of this, and so of other, sacraments, and a 

discovery of the error of two extremes. (1.) Of 

those who ascribe too much to them, as if they 

wrought by a natural, inherent virtue, and carried 

grace in them inseparably. (2.) Of those who 

ascribe too little to them, making them only 
♦ 

signs and badges of our profession. Signs they 
are, but more than signs merely representing; 
they are means exhibiting, and seals confirming, 
grace to the faithful. But the working of faith 
and the conveying Christ into the soul, to be 
received by faith, is not a thing put into them to 
do of themselves, but still in the supreme hand 
that appointed them; and he indeed both causes 
the souls of his own to receive these his seals 
with faith, and makes them effectual to confirm 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 73 

that faith which receives them so. They are then, 
in a word, neither empty signs to them who be¬ 
lieve, nor effectual causes of grace to them that 
believe not.” 

Let me make the distinction very clear to your 
mind, for it is of great practical importance. The 
u mystery of iniquity ” in Paul’s time, and since his 
day, did not, and does not, consist in making too 
much of God’s ordinances in their purity and 
proper use. That cannot be done, any more than 
you can intelligently love the Bible too much, or 
the Sabbath. But, to pervert them, or to make 
additions to them, or to rely upon them wholly, is 
Bomanism. But can men make too much of hav¬ 
ing a seal on a deed ? Is the deed good for any¬ 
thing without the seal ? Can they make too much 
of having three witnesses to their wills ? Those 
three witnesses, instead of two, make an otherwise 
worthless writing, a man’s last will and testament. 
Thus, a true sign, ordinance, or seal, among men, 
has inherent efficacy of some sort. Shall we 
deny it to the ordinances and seals of Heaven ? 
He who lays claim to the covenant, but rejects 
the seal, deceives himself. They must go to¬ 
gether. 


7 


74 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


But will you not think me older even than 1 
claim to be, because I am so garrulous ? I have 
many things to say, but will not say them with pen 
and ink, hoping to see you shortly. Farewell, my 
dear daughter, to you and your beloved husband, 
with abundant kisses for your little namesake, who, 
I pray, may be spared to you, if God has any work 
for her to do on earth. Dedicate her sincerely and 
entirely, beforehand, to God, and then in his house, 
with baptism, before the assembled brethren in 
Christ; and let your subsequent treatment of her 
be a repetition of the whole. Baptizing a child, 
with right views and feelings, leads to much 
prayer for it. Benew the consecration of your 
child daily, in little, sudden acts of prayer, as well 
as in more deliberate offices of devotion. Thus 
surround it with an atmosphere of faith and conse¬ 
cration, not forgetting the public transaction in 
% 

which you covenanted with God, before many wit¬ 
nesses, for the child, and He, my. dear daughter, 
with you, in its behalf. For, a covenant implies 
two parties; and God is one, and you are the 
other; and Jesus is the mediator, who said of 
children, “ Of such is the kingdom of God.” “ He 
that came down from heaven,” had seen, in heaven,* 


THE GRANDFATHER’S LETTER. 


75 


how largely that world is peopled with them. “ Of 
such is the kingdom of heaven.” Peace be with 
you. All send love. 


Your affectionate Father. 


Cfes'jitr 


BERTHA’S BAPTISM.—CHANTING AT BAPTISMS. — PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BAPTISMS.— 
WEEK-DAY BAPTISMS. — A DAUGHTER’S LOVE. — BAPTISM OF A DEAF-MUTE IN 
FANT. — FIDELITY OF A BAPTIZED CHILD.— SUBJECTS OF BAPTISM. — THE MODE. 

— IMPROBABILITY OF IMMERSION, IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.— ON BEING BURIED 
IN BAPTISM. — NEW VERSION OF THE SCRIPTURES. — OUR DIVISION INTO SECTS. 

— A MOTHER’S PLEA FOR INFANT BAPTISM. 


Where is it mothers learn their love ? 

In every church a fountain springs, 

O’er which th’ eternal Dove 
Hovers on softest wings. 

0, happy arms, where cradled lies, 

And ready for the Lord’s embrace, 

That precious sacrifice, 

The darling of his grace ! 

Keble. 

* 

We took Bertha to church when she was two 
months old. The minister, being fond of music, 
had, for some time, requested the choir to chant 
select passages of Scripture at baptisms. 

So, as we came up the aisle with the child, the 
choir breathed out those words, 11 And I will es¬ 
tablish my covenant between thee and me, and thy 

# 

seed after thee, in their generations, for an ever 


bertha’s baptism. 


77 


lasting covenant; to be a God unto thee, and to 
ttiy seed after thee.” “ Suffer the little children 
to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such 
is the kingdom of God.” “And he took them up 
in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed 
them.” And, as we turned away from the font, 
they added, “ So shall he sprinkle many nations.” 
“ The Lord shall increase you more and more, you 
and your children.” “ But the mercy of the Lord 
is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that 
fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s 
children; to such as keep his covenant, and to 
those that remember his commandments, to do 
them.” 

How I loved that choir, and the congregation ! 
for, many a face did I see bathed in tears, and 
others beaming with smiles and love, as, with re¬ 
spectful, half-turned looks, they seemed to give us 
their blessing. 

“Do you not think, more than ever,” I said, 
to the beloved grandmother of my child, after 
church, as we watched the little sleeper in her 
cradle, “that people lose very much in having 
their children baptized at home ? ” 

7 * 


78 


PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BAPTISMS. 


“ It makes a different thing of it,” she replied, 
“ I felt that all the congregation loved Bertha and 
you. How many prayers you obtained for her 
and for yourselves, which you would have missed 
by a private baptism !’’ 

“ Besides,” I remarked ,“ 1 God loveth the gates 
of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.’ I 
think that for that reason, and on the same princi¬ 
ple, namely, that he is more honored, he regards 
our public dedication of children with more favor 
than a private baptism, except, of course, where 
sickness makes the public service impossible. But 
it is some trouble to mothers, and no doubt many 
shrink from it.” 

“ The trouble is more in anticipation than real¬ 
ity,” she replied. “That pastor’s room, where 
they stay till the introductory services are over, 
makes it more convenient and agreeable. But all 
the trouble, even if it were far greater, is nothing 
compared with the satisfaction of having taken 
your offering and come into His courts. You 
have paid your vows unto the Lord, in the pres¬ 
ence of all his people. You will remember those 
prayers, those words of Scripture which were 
chanted, and your feelings as you took the child 



WEEK-DAY BAPTISMS. 


79 


into your arms vO be presented to God, and as you 
heard those adorable names prc^iounced upon her 
and then received her back into your arms, as it 
were, from the hands of God.” 

“ What do you think,” said I, u of the practice 
of having children baptized in the church on a 
week-day ? It enables the parents to attend meet¬ 
ing on the Sabbath with more composure than 
when they bring their children on the Sabbath.” 

“ But 0,” said she, u what is that, compared with 
the privilege of bringing the child before the 
whole church of God, in his house, on the Lord’s 
day, and so identifying its baptism with the most 
solemn acts of public worship ? I do not like 
those week-day baptisms. Where they have the 
communion lecture in the afternoon of a week-day, 
there may be reasons of convenience for bringing 
the children for baptism then, rather than on the 
Sabbath; but there is a great loss of enjoyment, 
and .also of impressiveness, in the ordinance, in 
doing so, I think. I was at a place, several years 
ago, when fourteen children were baptized on a 
Wednesday afternoon, in the church. I went to 
see it, but it was not solemn at all. I could not 
help thinking what an impressive and useful sight 


80 


A daughter’s loye. 


that would have been on the Sabbath, before all 
the people, and ho^f much more good, probably, it 
would have done the parents, even if they had 
given up half the Sabbath in going and returning 
with the children.” 

“ If people,” said I, “ thought more of the spir¬ 
itual meaning and privileges of baptism, and 
viewed it as they do in times of sickness and 
death, they would think less of inconveniences 
and discomforts, and see that the ordinance is 
something more than giving a child a name.” 

Some time after this, I called upon a cousin of 
ours, a young married lady of our congregation, 
who, within a year, had come to us from another 
place, she having been married to an educated, in¬ 
telligent member of another congregation, and who r 
from his great love for her, had come with her to' 
our place* of worship from another denomination, 
this having been made a condition of their mar- 
triage. For she felt that she could not be debarred 
the privilege of sitting at the Lord’s table’ with 
her mother, three sisters, and brother, as she 
would be if she united herself with her friend’s 
church. Ths idea of going to any table of Christ 


A daughter’s love. 


81 


on earth where they could not come, thus seeming 
to disfranchise her whole family whom Christ had 
gathered into his fold, and some of them into 
heaven, did violence to her feelings. At one time, 
it seemed likely that the engagement of marriage 
would be terminated, on this ground alone. Some 
one of the gentleman’s persuasion, who thought 
that she “ ought to follow Christ in ordinances,” 
and “ take up her cross ” in this instance, whis¬ 
pered to her that she was, perhaps, in danger of 
denying Christ, from love to her kindred, and he 
said to her, “ He that loveth father or mother 
more than me, is not worthy of me.” This had the 
opposite effect from that which was intended, for 
it showed her, in the strongest light, the error of 
supposing that love to Christ could ever require 
her to separate from herself, at the table of 
Christ/such friends of Jesus as the members of 
her dear Christian home, — a home which had been 
like that of Bethany to many of the Saviour’s 
friends. She felt more sure of being actuated by 
right motives in giving up her marriage, and not 
withdrawing fellowship from her mother and the 
family, than she would be in sacrificing that fellow¬ 
ship to gratify a new affection. Her next younger 


82 


BAPTISM OF A DEAF-MUTE INFANT. 


sister was baptized after the father’s death. She 
was a deaf-mute. The mother was a very beauti¬ 
ful woman. She had borne severe trials for her 
religion with a spirit of patience and Christian 
propriety which won the love and esteem of the 
community. She went to the altar of God, a 
widow, with the little deaf and dumb child, and 
presented it for baptism. It was as though the 
impending calamity of its father’s death had shut 
up some of the senses of the child, and God had 
placed it in the mother’s hand as a silent memorial 
to her, for life, of his chastising love. She left 
her fatherless flock in the family pew, and went 
with her nursling, not merely to give it to God, 
but to receive for it the seal of his covenant, bow¬ 
ing submissively to his inscrutable appointment, 
and imploring the God of Abraham to be still her 
God, and the God of this her seed. That scene 
had not failed to make deep impressions upon the 
other children; and now it was proposed to one of 
them that she should, by connecting herself in mar¬ 
riage, disavow her mother’s right to cling, in those 
hours of anguish, to that asylum of the fatherless, 
infant baptism, — that very present help in trouble, 
the covenant of God with believers and their off- 



FIDELITY OF A BAPTIZED CHILD. 


83 


spring. The little child, moreover, had become a 
Christian, and had sat with her sister, side by side, 
at the commnnion-table, for several years. “ For¬ 
bid it,” she prayed with herself, “ that I should go 
where I cannot be allowed to follow Christ till I 
have separated this dear one from my side.” 

She once wrote a letter on the subject to the 
gentleman, which he showed, after their marriage, 
to some of his friends. There will be no impro¬ 
priety in its appearing here. It ran thus : 

u My deae Me. E.: Though I am not willing to 
deny that Roger Williams was, as you say, raised 
up to illustrate' some important principles, and to 
help on the general cause of truth, I must say 
that he strikes me as a very unreasonable man in 
much of his behavior. Our puritan fathers did 
not come to this wilderness with French, atheistic, 
idolatrous love for a goddess of liberty. They 
came here, it is true, for liberty of conscience and - 
freedom to worship God. With a great sum they 
purchased this freedom. But infidels could as 
well claim to be absolved by the laws from all 
recognition of God, under the plea of liberty, as 
Mr. Williams and his friends could make his de- 


84 


FIDELITY OF A 


mands for toleration. To insist that our fathers 
in their circumstances, should have opened their 
doors wide to every doctrine, and to the denial of 
everything professed by them, is unreasonable. 
They came here with an intense love for certain 
truths and practices, which persecution had only 
served to make exceedingly precious to them. To 
have proclaimed at once universal toleration of 
every wind of doctrine, would have proved them 
libertines in religion. Because they did not so, re¬ 
proach is cast upon them by some, who seem to me 
to be free-thinkers on the subject of religious lib¬ 
erty. If other men wished to found a community 
with doctrines and practices adverse to those of 
the New England fathers, the land was wide, and 
it would have been the part of good manners in 
Mr. Williams to have gone into the wilderness at 
once, to subdue it and to fight the savages, all for 
love and zeal for his own tenets, instead of poach¬ 
ing upon the hard-earned soil of those who had 
laid down their all for what they deemed to be the 
truth. It seems to me unphilosophical in some of 
our historians to reflect, as they do, upon our fore¬ 
fathers for not being so totally indifferent to what 
they deemed error, as to allow it free couise. 



BAPTIZED CHILD. 


85 


Their strict, and, if yon please, rigid ways, were 
the necessary defences of their principles, which 
were just taking root here. They did right in 
passing stringent laws to protect them; and relig¬ 
ions liberty was no more violated in doing so than 
is the liberty of our town's people here, who, by the 
law of the State protecting game, cannot take fish, 
or kill birds, during certain seasons. 

“ Besides, I never saw any proof that Mr. Wil¬ 
liams was himself the great apostle of toleration. 
I remember reading to father, during his sickness, 
some remarks of the late John Quincy Adams, in 
which he vindicates the New England fathers for 
banishing Roger Williams as a 1 nuisance.’ * Mr. 
Adams surely cannot be accused of bigotry, nor of 
being an enemy to the cause of freedom; and his 
remarks seemed to me more just than the eulogies, 

* “ Can we blame the founders of the Massachusetts Colony for ban¬ 
ishing him from their jurisdiction ? In the annals of religious perse¬ 
cution is there to be found a martyr more gently dealt with by those 
against whom he began the war of intolerance ; whose authority he 
persisted, even after professions of penitence and submission, in defy¬ 
ing, till deserted even by the wife of his bosom ; and whose utmost 
severity of punishment upon him was only an order for his removal 
as a nuisance from among them ? ” — Discourse before Mass. Hist. 
Soc ., 1843, pp. 25—30. — [Ed.] 

8 


86 


FIDELITY OF A 


by historians and orators, of Mr. Williams. Father 
once showed me an old book of Mr. Williams’s, 
which we have now, called 1 George Fox digg’d- 
out of his Burrowes/ in which Mr. W. inveighs 
against the Quakers for their want of ‘ civil re¬ 
spect/ and for using 1 thee’ and 1 thou/ in 
addressing magistrates and others. He says, on 
the two hundredth page, 1 1 have therefore pub- 
lickly declared myself, that a due and moderate 
restraint and punishing of these incivilities (though 
pretending conscience) is as far from persecution, 
properly so called, as that it is a duty and com¬ 
mand of God unto all mankinde, first in families, 
and thence unto all mankinde societies.’ — It is 
also a matter of history that the colony settled by 
Mr. Williams refused their franchise to Roman 
Catholics, though even then the Roman Catholics of 
Maryland were tolerating people of his own faith, 
and Quakers also. Mr. Williams always seemed 
to me like one of our pious, zealous ‘ come-out- 
ers.’ He even forsook his own denomination in 
three months after he had been baptized, and for 
forty years denied the validity of their sacraments, 
and the scripturalness of their churches and minis¬ 
try. Such a man would even at this day be ex 





BAPTIZED CHILD. 


87 


communicated by every society, unless it were 
some association for the encouragement of radical 
notions of liberty. I no more see in him the 
impersonation of religious freedom, than in some 
other good people who go or stay where they are 
not wanted. I am not disposed to deny that you 
and your friends, with their principles, of which 
you, erroneously, I think, claim Mr. Williams as 
the great exponent, 1 have a mission/ as you say, 
to perform; but I do not feel called upon to join 
in it. Some of your writers seem to me — shall 
I say it? — a little too sure of having just the 
right pattern and patent-right in ordinances; 
and somewhat too complacent in not being liked 
by other denominations, and perhaps a little dis¬ 
posed to look for persecution. Now I was pleased 
with a remark of Matthew Henry’s, on Mark 10: 
28, that 1 It is not the suffering, but the cause, 
that makes the martyr.’ But we were brought 
up under different associations, and cannot sea 
just alike in all things. I cannot, however, con¬ 
tradict, by any step which my feelings would 
incline me to take, the Christian citizenship of 
those v\ho are dear to Christ, and are so precious 
to ' As much as T love you, I think you should 


88 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


feel perfectly free to leave me in my happy home, 
if you cannot allow me to retain my fidelity to my 
own conscientious convictions of truth, and to the 
sacred rights of those whom nature and grace 
have conspired to make inseparable from my own 
Christian hopes and joys.” 

The gentleman agreed to allow her the largest 
liberty, and they were married. He knew that 
she had a mind and heart that were more precious 
than rubies, and that the heart of a husband could 
safely trust in her. The sequel will show, how¬ 
ever, how good it is to he matched as well as 
mated, and, in the conjugal relation, to be u per¬ 
fectly joined together in the same judgment.” 

The object of my call, that evening, was to 
rejoice with her, and to be, the bearer of some 
congratulations at the recovery of their infant, 
whose death had been expected for some time. 
The child was now perfectly restored. 

As I stood in the entry, not having rung the 
door-bell, and was hanging up my hat and coat, 
some one in the parlor said: 

u What good can it do the child or us to sprin¬ 
kle a little water on its head ? ” 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


89 


• 

u Good-evening, Mr. M.,” said the husband, as I 
went in. I was interrupted in my expression of a 
fear that I had intruded upon their conversation, 
by their assurances to the contrary. “1 am glad 
you came in,” said Mr. Kelly, “ for perhaps you 
can help us. You heard, I suppose, what I was 
saying as you came in. If I am not mistaken, Mr. 
M., you yourself are not very strenuous about 
infant baptism, for I have heard of your making 
inquiries on the subject.” 

“Not only have all my doubts been removed,” 
said I, “ but the baptism of my child has been the 
source of the richest instruction and comfort.” 

“ I am glad to hear you say so,” said Mrs. K. 

“But,” said Mr. K., “you do not, of course, 
derive your warrant for it from the word of God. 
That is our only guide, you know. There is no 
more authority in the Bible for baptizing children 
than there is for praying to saints. You are prob¬ 
ably aware that the practice originated in the 
third century of the Christian era.” 

Mr. M. It originated with a man by the name 
of Abraham, I believe, sir, two or three thousand 
years before Christ. 

Mr. K. 0, then, you go to Judaism for it! 

8 * 


90 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


• 

Mr. M. Judaism comes to me with it, and hands 
it over to me. There was something good in 
Judaism, we all think. Judaism was not a Mor 
monism, as certain ways of speaking of it not un- 
frequently would make us think it to have been ; 
it was not an exploded folly, but the form which 
the church of God bore for two* thousand years. 
But it began before Judaism ; it is older than 
Moses. Judaism received it from Abraham. It 
is like a great river rising in a desert place, and 
seeming to lose itself in a lake, but flowing out 
again into another lake, and thence to the sea. 
So Judaism was only a great lake, which took and 
seemingly held this river of baptism for a time, but 
its current went on and flowed into another lake, 
the Christian dispensation. But you cannot say 
that a river which makes a chain of lakes, rises, 
for that reason, in the first lake. No, its head 
spring, in this case, was antecedent to the lake. 

Mr. K. Did Abraham or the Jews baptize chil¬ 
dren, Mr. M. ? 

I answered, “Every male child of Abraham’s 
descendants, who should not receive the sign of 
consecration to God, was to be cut off from among 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


91 


the people. Proselytes of the covenant and their 
children were baptized, very early.” 

Mr. K. But where is the command to apply 
baptism to children? 

Mr. M. Where, my dear sir, is the command to 
discontinue that which was enjoined upon the 
founder of the race of believers for all time ? I 
believe in the perpetuity of Abraham’s relation to 
us as the father of the faithful, as I believe in 
Adam’s relation to us as the representative of the 
race, and in the Saviour’s relation to us as our 
representative. God seems to love these federal 
headships, as we call' them. Abraham did not re¬ 
ceive circumcision being a Jew, but, as the apostle 
says,“ as a seal of the righteousness which is by 
faith, which he had while he was yet uncircum¬ 
cised.” We have Scripture for that, Mr. Kelly. 
And u the law, which was four hundred and thirty 
years after,” did not disannul that covenant “ that 
was confirmed before of God in Christ.” How 
can you call circumcision a Jewish ordinance, 
when the Bible so explicitly denies it to be of 
Jewish origin ? 

Mr. K. 0,1 do not understand this Abrahamic 
covenant. I take the New Testament for my guide*. 


92 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


Mr. M. You think well of the book of Psalms, 1 
presume, as a help to prayer and pious feelings ? 

Mr. K. Yes; but in all matters of faith and prac¬ 
tice, the New Testament, like the doings of the 
latest session of the legislature, is the rule foi 
New Testament believers. You might as well 
have tried to govern the ancient Jews with the 
New Testament, as enforce the laws of the Old 
Testament on us. 

Mr. M. Is the privilege of having God stand in 
a special relation to my child an Old Testament 
ordinance, in the same sense with ceremonial 
observances ? 

Mr. K. Not exactly that, but it is a superstition 
to baptize children, now that circumcision is done 
away, and believers’ baptism is enjoined. 

Mr. M. Believers’ baptism is enjoined, but chil¬ 
dren’s baptism is not therefore prohibited. 

Mr. K. But where is it enacted ? 

Mr. M. If the original form of dedicating chil¬ 
dren is essential, why is not the original form of 
the Sabbath essential, the very day which was 
first appointed ? How dare we change a day 
which God himself ordained from the beginning, 
until he makes the change as peremptory as the 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


93 


institution itself? Have we any right to infer, in 
such an important matter ? Where is the express, 
divine command,— not precedent, example, usage, 
but where is the enactment,—making the first day 
of the week the Christian Sabbath ? 

Mr. K. So long as we may keep the thing, 
observing one day in seven, it makes no differ¬ 
ence which day we keep, if we can all agree on 
one and the same day. We do not all agree to 
retain circumcision in any way. 

Mr. M. So long as we may retain the thing 
signified by circumcision, it makes but little differ¬ 
ence what form is used to express it. 

Mr. K. The apostles, who changed the Sabbath 
from the seventh to the first day, knew the mind 
of Christ. 

Mr. M. And so the men, who first practised 
infant baptism, knew the minds of the inspired 
apostles, and they knew the mind of Christ. But 
to go a step further back, the only ground for 
inferring that the Sabbath is rightly changed from 
the seventh to the first day of the week, is the 
incidental mention of Christ’s meeting his assem¬ 
bled disciples a few times after his resurrection 
on the first day. On that slight ground we are all 


94 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


content to rest our present observance of the Sab¬ 
bath. Now, I say that the mention of the baptism 
of households eight times, in one form and an¬ 
other, is as good a warrant for infant baptism, as 
those two or three Sabbath-evening meetings 
were for the institution of the Lord’s-day Sab¬ 
bath. 

Mr. K. I cannot agree with you, Mr. M., in 
putting circumcision on the same level with the 
Sabbath. 

Mr. M. I myself see a resemblance in the 
changes made in the two cases. I have no wish 
to proselyte you to my views. I have only an¬ 
swered your polite inquiries. 

Mr. K. 0, I know that; we shall be good 
friends still; but I see no grounds for baptizing 
children on the faith of their parents. 

Mr. M. We look at the thing from different- 
points of view. I see it as clearly as I see that 
the church of God is essentially the same in all 
ages, with its variety of forms. This matter of 
children’s baptism is with me a spiritual thing, and 
is independent of dispensations. You know that 
a river may have, in one district of the earth 
through which it flows, one name, and in another 


, INFANT BAITISM. 


95 


district another name, while it is the same river. 
Now, the divine recognition of believers’ children, 
as standing in a special covenanted relation with 
God, is the headspring of infant dedication by the 
use of a rite. The object of this recognition is, 
that He may have a godly seed. God does not 
perpetuate religion directly by natural descent, it 
is true, but he seeks to promote it by descent from 
a pious parentage, and he therefore endows that 
parentage with special privileges and promises. 
The inclusion of children with their believing 
parents has been the great means of perpetuating 
religion in the earth. It is a stream which washed 
the shores of Judaism under the name of circum¬ 
cision; now it washes the shores of the Gentiles 
under the name of baptism. For the Saviour or 
the apostles to have reappointed infant dedication, 
with the use of the cotemporary initiating ordi¬ 
nance, would, to my mind, be as superfluous as for 
the allied powers to have agreed that the Danube 
should still run through Austria. 

Mr. K. Your principle of interpretation, Mr. 
M., has brought in all the darkness which has cov¬ 
ered the earth in the Romish apostacy. There 


96 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


will be no end to human inventions in religion, if 
this principle prevails. 

Mr. M. But, my dear sir, there certainly has 
been an end at the very beginning; for what in¬ 
ventions in Protestant worship have non-prelatical 
Pasdobaptists made ? Surely that practice has not 
been prolific of superstitions. I often hear this 
alleged, Mr. K., and we are called Romish and 
Popish because we baptize infants. But will it not 
be best for Christian sects to allow each other en¬ 
tire liberty of conscience, and not accuse each 
other of tendencies to Romanism, when all are 
zealously Protestant ? Here is a piece, which I 
cut from a newspaper lately, which describes the 
baptism by immersion of some females and others,, 
one Sabbath in January, the thermometer below 
zero, a place being cut through the ice for the pur¬ 
pose, and a boy watching with a pole to keep the 
floating ice from the opening. Shall I call this, 
Romish, superstitious, fanatical ? Shall I say, How 
can we, consistently with such practices among 
Protestants, say anything about the dbetrine of 
penances ? No. I prefer to think that those who- 
do these things are as good Protestants as myself,, 
and I will not impeach their rigid adherence to 


INFANT BAPTISM. 


97 


their belief, by imputing Romish tendencies to 
their modes of worship and their ordinances; for 
no people are further from Romanism in their prin¬ 
ciples than they (unless it be some of us Psedo- 
baptists, Mrs. Kelly). 

Mr. K. Well, there is no quarrelling with you; 
but let me say that when another sect sees you em¬ 
ploying an ordinance which has no warrant in the 
Bible,— sprinkling water upon people, on proper 
subjects and improper subjects for baptism, when 
we know that the word baptize means to immerse , 
and that believers only are properly baptized,— 
how can we be silent? Would you be silent if 
Episcopalians should set up Latin prayers, or the 
confessional; or the Methodists turn their love- 
feasts into the old Passover? 

Mr. M. We must tolerate the mistakes and er¬ 
rors of those who, in the main, are confessedly 
good, and are conscientious in what we deem theii 
errors. When the noble array of great and good 
men in the Episcopal Low Church, and among the 
Methodists, fall into such mistakes as you have 
specified, there will be opportunity for other 
Christians to express themselves. But you are 
rather rhetorical in your reasoning, to compare the 
9 


98 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


practice of infant baptism by Owen, and Watts, 
and Doddridge, and Leighton, and Baxter, and all 
like them, with Latin prayers and a return to the 
Passover. 

Mr. K. There is not a case of sprinkling in the 
New Testament. You are too well-informed to 
deny this. 

Mr. M. Mr. K., there is not one instance of 
baptism, in the New Testament, where there does 
not appear to me to be an improbability of its hav¬ 
ing been administered by immersion. 

By this time Mrs. K., who had been called away 
to attend to her child, returned, and hearing my 
last remark, said, with a significant look at her 
husband : 

“We shall require you to prove that, Mr. M.” 

“Most willingly,” said I. “Do you think, 
cousin Eunice, that the multitudes who came to 
John and the apostles to be baptized, brought 
changes of raiment with them ? ” 

“No,” said she; “and there were no conven¬ 
iences for making a change of dress in those 
places, I presume.” 

Mr. M. Were they immersed in the clothes 
which they had on ? 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


99 


Mrs. K. That does not seem probable. Some 
of them, at least, had valuable garments, we may 
suppose, and few, if any, would wish to have their 
apparel wet through, or to keep it on them, if 
wet. 

Mr. M. They were not immersed without cloth¬ 
ing, of course, promiscuously, and, therefore, I be¬ 
lieve that they were all baptized by sprinkling or 
pouring, their loose upper garments allowing them 
to step into the water, or very near it; and John, 
standing there (and. the apostles, also, when they 
administered baptism), and laying on the water 
with his hand, or, which is not impossible, with the 
long-accustomed bunches of hyssop. The Episco¬ 
pal mode of administering the Lord’s Supper, ena¬ 
bles me to conceive how baptism by sprinkling 
could be administered rapidly. As six or more 
people are kneeling, the Episcopal minister gives 
each his portion of the bread, and repeats the form¬ 
ula, not to each one, but once only while his 
hand is passing over the six. So, I imagine, John 
repeated whatever form he had (and the apos¬ 
tles theirs) to companies, while, in rapid succes¬ 
sion, he applied the water to them. It is impos¬ 
sible to account for the performance of such in- 


100 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


credible labor as John must have undergone, un¬ 
less we adopt some such supposition as this, or 
confess that John’s baptism was, throughout, a 
miracle. But “the people said, John did no mira¬ 
cle.” If the apostles sprinkled three thousand in 
this way, by companies, in one day, as they could 
easily have done, we can see how the same day 
there could be “added unto them about three 
thousand souls,” even if “added” meant being 
baptized. That the apostles had assistance in ad¬ 
ministering baptism at this early period, is not 
probable. They had not yet proposed to have 
helpers in taking care of the poor, much less to 
share with them the first administration of Chris¬ 
tian baptism. If any church were to require me 
to believe, before admitting me to the Lord’s table, 
that the apostles immersed three thousand people 
at the day of Pentecost, after nine o’clock in the 
morning, in the midst of necessary labors, and at 
that driest season of the year, or in tanks, I could 
no more believe it than I could confess that the 
earth is flat. 

Mrs. K. But “John was baptizing in Enon, near 
to Salim, because there was much water there.” 

Mr. M. “ Much water,” in those countries, was 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


101 


on a smaller scale than in North America. They 
would have needed all the lake-shore or river banks 
that could be found, to witness the baptisms, and 
to pass in and out of, or to and from, the water, 
conveniently, while John stood to receive them in 
or near the water. A fountain or small body of 
water would not have accommodated those multi¬ 
tudes ; not because the water would not suffice, 
for a small running stream would be enough, and 
would have afforded “ much water; ” but think 
what inconvenience there would have been in bap¬ 
tizing a crowd around a small stream. Baptism by 
immersion, among us, though a few gallons of water 
only are needed, is more conveniently done where 
there is “much water;” because the spectators 
can spread themselves along the banks, and then 
there is no confusion. The most convenient and 
rapid way of baptizing multitudes by sprinkling 
would be, for the administrator to stand in the 
water, and let the people pass by him. Besides, 
those multitudes who came to John’s baptism 
needed “much water” for themselves and their 
beasts. 

Mrs. K. But the Saviour went down into the 
water, and came up out of the water. 

' 9 * 


102 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


Mr.M. So did John, in the same sense; and so 
did “both Philip and the Eunuch;” but John and 
Philip did not, therefore, go under the water. But 
Mr. Kelly will tell you that down in to, and up out 
of, might as well have been translated to and from, 
in the case of the Eunuch. If you insist that going 
down into the water involves immersion, it fol¬ 
lows that Philip went under the water with the 
Eunuch, and there baptized him. 

Mr. K. We shall set those matters right in that 
new version of the Bible which you were com¬ 
plaining of the last time I saw you. Down into, 
and up out of, are required by the word baptize, 
which means immerse. 

Mr. M. No, my dear sir, not always, even in the 
New Testament. The word had come, even in the 
Saviour’s time, to signify purification, or consecra¬ 
tion, irrespective of the mode. The Pharisees, in 
coming from the market-places, except they wash, 
eat not. The word is baptize. But they did not 
bathe at such times; they “baptized” themselves 
by washing their bodies. We read of the baptism 
of beds, which was merely washing them. The 
Israelites were baptized unto Moses. There the 
word means, simply, inaugurated, or set apart, with 


MODE OP BAPTISM. 


103 


no reference to the mode; for, they were not im¬ 
mersed, but bedewed, if wet at all; they were not 
buried in that cloud, for the other cloud that led 
them was in sight; they were not buried in the 
sea, which was a wall to them on either hand. 

There is a good illustration, it seems to me, of 
the change in words from their literal meaning, in 
the passage where Christ is called the “ first-born of 
every creature.” He was not born first, before all 
men, but he has the “ preeminence ” over all crea¬ 
tures, as the first-born had among the children. 
Here is an illustration, from the New Testament, of 
the way in which baptism may cease to denote any 
mode, and refer only to an act of consecration. 

As to that new version of the Bible, Coleridge 
says, that the state ought to be, to all religious 
denominations, like a good portrait, which looks 
benignantly on all in the room. So the Bible now 
seems to look kindly upon all Christian sects; and, 
for one, I love to have it so. But, some of you, 
good brethren, who are in favor of this new ver¬ 
sion to suit your particular views, are trying to 
alter the eyes of the portrait so that they shall 
look only on you, and to your part of the room. 
We think that you ought to be satisfied with the 


104 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


present kind look which you get from them. Theie 
is one comfort — you will make a new picture to 
please yourselves, and we shall keep the old por¬ 
trait. 

“ Please do not be too severe on my husband for 
that mistake of his,” said Mrs. K.; 11 1 think that 
he is getting better of it, in a measure.” 

Mr. K. I will make you a present of the book 
when it arrives, and, perhaps, you will agree with 
me. But I am surprised to hear you say that you 
do not believe the Saviour to have been immersed 
by John. 

Mr. M. It was not Christian baptism, at any 
rate, if he were; for the names of the Trinity are 
essential to Christian baptism, and those names had 
not been thus applied. 

Besides, John could not have plunged and lifted 
those thousands without superhuman strength and 
endurance, which we know he did not possess. 
The same reasoning applies, in the baptism of the 
three thousand at the day of Pentecost, both as 
respects what I have said of raiment, and the time 
and strength of the apostles. 

The baptism of the Eunuch was, to my mind, 
most probably by sprinkling, making no change 


MODE OF BAPTISM 


105 


of raiment necessary. 11 See, here is water,” — a 
spring, or stream, by the road-side, quite as likely 
(and, travellers now say, more probably) as a pond. 
Yes, sir, Philip went down into the water just as 
much as the Eunuch did, if we follow the Greek 
literally. I think that down refers to the chariot, 
the act of leaving it to go to the water. But the 
English version, as it now stands, makes strongly 
for your view of the case in the mind of the com¬ 
mon reader. 

Saul of Tarsus was baptized after having been 
struck blind) and while he was in a state of extreme 
exhaustion from excitement, without food; for, 
during three days, “ he did neither eat nor drink.” 
He was baptized before he ate; for, we read, 
11 And he arose and was baptized; and, when he 
had received meat, he was strengthened.” It does 
not seem to me probable that they would have put 
him into a river, or tank, before giving him food. 
But it seems to me natural and suitable for Ana¬ 
nias to draw nigh, and impress the trembling man 
with the mild and gentle sign of Christianity, the 
rite giving a soothing and cheering efficacy to the 
words cf adoption, and in no way disturbing him 
in body or miad. I have always regarded the 


106 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


baptism of Saul as a strong presumptive jjroof 
with regard to baptism by affusion. 

So with the midnight scene of baptism in the 
prison at Philippi. The preparation of one or 
more large vessels, to immerse the household, is 
not congruous with the circumstances narrated, as 
I read them. But the quiet and convenient act of 
baptism by sprinkling, falls in harmoniously with 
the other parts of the transaction. For my part, I 
have always wondered how any one can fail to see 
that there are so many improbabilities of immer¬ 
sion in every case of baptism, in the -New Testa¬ 
ment, as to counteract any weight which the word 
baptize carries with it, more especially since the 
word and its derivatives are employed, in the New 
Testament, in cases where the mode of using the 
water is evidently not intended. 

Mr. K. “ Buried with him in baptism.” Mr. M., 
you will confess that this is an impregnable proof- 
text. You have never been “buried with him in 
baptism.” 

Mr. M. But I am “ risen with him,” Mr. K. 
With all humility and tears, I must say to you, 
“ If any man trusteth to himself that he is Christ’s, 
r et him also think this with himself, that as he is 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


107 


Christ’s even so also we are Christ’s.” Your ap¬ 
plication of the passage, just quoted by you, dis¬ 
proves your interpretation of it. If we must be 
buried in water, when we are baptized, then no 
one is risen with Christ who has not been im¬ 
mersed. You thus disfranchise four fifths, to say 
the least, of God’s elect. No, my dear sir, being 
buried with Christ, in baptism does not mean im¬ 
mersion. People in the frozen ocean, the sick 
and dying, who are sprinkled with water in the 
name of the Christian’s God, are “ buried with 
Christ in baptism into death ; ” that is, profess to 
be dead and buried to sin, as Christ was dead and 
buried for it. Besides, follow out the passage, 
and there is no allusion to the form of baptism, as 

I can perceive, but to something else. “ Buried 
with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ 
was raised,” — from the water? — yes, if water 
baptism be now in the writer’s mind; but no, — 

II like as Christ was raised from the dead, by the 
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk 
in newness of life.” The word buried, therefore, 
in this passage, refers to the completeness of the 
Saviour’s death for sin (as we say intensively of a 
deceased person, he is dead and buried), and of 


108 


MODE OP BAPTISM. 


the completeness of our renunciation of it. We 
are dead and buried to sin, as Christ was for it; 
and we rise to newness of life, when we profess to 
be Christians, as Christ rose from the dead, not 
from the water. 

Mr. K. How is it with infants ? Are they dead 
and buried to sin when they are baptized? If 
being buried, in this passage, means being dead 
and buried to sin, then infants are regenerated by 
baptism. 

Mr. K. gave his* wife a pleased look, as though 
he had placed me in a dilemma. 

“ Mrs. Kelly/’ said I, “ how do you suppose that 
nursing children ate the first passover ? ” 

“ I suppose that they ate it through the faith of 
their parents,” said Mrs. K., looking narrowly into 
the stitches of her crochet-work, to control a 
smile. 

“ That passover, however,” said I, " was the 
means of saving those children, who, many of 
them, were the first-born in their respective fam¬ 
ilies. Yet they were saved by the passover 
through the faith of their parents. Do not under¬ 
stand me as urging the comparison to an extreme; 
I only say that there we have an example of par- 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


109 


Qts acting for the child in a matter of faith. The 
infant child was incapable of believing, and even 
where the first-born was grown up, the parent 
acted for him in the ordinance, by sprinkling the 
door with blood. I do not prove infant baptism 
by this, but I use it to show that parents may use 
an ordinance for their infants. Mr. K. asks if bap¬ 
tized infants are buried with Christ in baptism into 
death, — that is, die unto sin and rise to newness 
of life. The parents profess by the baptism that 
they will use means to effect this in their children, 
through the grace of the Holy Spirit. I should 
like to ask Mr. Kelly if he believes that every per¬ 
son who is immersed, is buried into death, spirit¬ 
ually, with Christ, or is actually dead to sin forever ; 
or, whether it is only a profession of one’s hope 
and intention. For we have all known some, who 
had been buried in water, that did not prove to 
have died unto sin.” 

Mr. K. Of course it is a symbol; and all we 
insist on is, that Paul must have had immersion in 
mind, as the form of baptism, when he spoke of 
being buried by baptism. 

Mr. M. When Paul says, 11 1 am crucified with 
Christ,” do you suppose that the idea of a cross 
10 


110 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


was in his mind ? Did he intimate that sanctifica¬ 
tion is effected by a piece of wood, with a trans¬ 
verse beam, used as a gibbet ? Or did he simply 
mean, I am dead to the world, and the world is 
dead to me, yea, and put to death (not merely dy¬ 
ing in a natural way), through the power of the 
Saviour’s sufferings and death on my behalf? The 
burial of Christ, following his death for sin, and 
so completing the idea of dying, is enough to have 
suggested the figure, I think, of our being not only 
dead with Christ, but buried with him, by a Chris¬ 
tian profession; that is, we utterly cease from the 
world and sin, professedly, as Christ not only died, 
but went into the tomb. But what does “ risen ” 
refer to in that passage, — the water or death ? — 
“ from whence also ye are risen with him through 
the faith of the operation of God.” 

Mr. M. Why, how do you understand it ? 

Mr. K. I prefer, if you please, that you should 
answer. Many understand it thus: “You are 
buried in water, to denote death to sin; you are 
lifted up out of the water (as Christ was lifted up 
by the Baptist), to live a new life.” If this be so, 
what is “ the operation of God,” which is spoken of 
there ? Does it need any such “ operation ” for an 


MODE OF BAPTISM. 


Ill 


immersed person to rise out of the water? No, 
my dear sir, our interpretation makes plain and 
thorough work of the whole passage. Our idea 
of that controverted passage (your great proof- 
text) is this: You, Christian professors, were, all 
of you, baptized, on profession of your faith; — 
when you made a Christian profession, you signi¬ 
fied by it your dying unto sin, as Christ died for 
it, so that, I may say, you were dead and buried 
to sin. But, as Christ came to life again, so you 
rose with him, not to sin, but to live a new life. 
Hear Dr. Watts on the passage: 

“ Do we not know that solemn word. 

That we are buried with the Lord, 

Baptized into his death, and then 
Put off the body of our sin? 

“ Our souls receive diviner breath, 

Raised from corruption, guilt and death ; 

So from the grave did Christ arise, 

And lives to God above the skies.” 

I do not believe that the mode of baptism is alluded 
to at all in this text. 

Mr. K. I cannot agree with you, sir. The con¬ 
trary is perfectly clear to my own mind. 

“ Mr. M.,” said Mrs. Kelly, “ do you think that 


112 


DIVISION INTO SECTS. 


you and Mr. K. would ever think alike on this sub¬ 
ject? ” 

“Never,” said I. “People almost always end 
where they began, when they discuss this topic ; 
only they do not always leave off in such good¬ 
nature as Mr. K. and I intend to do. I never knew 
a person to change his views to either side, unless 
he began as an inquirer, and not as an advocate.” 

“ What is the reason,” said Mrs. K., “ that good 
people are left to differ so about unessential things 
in religion, when they all hold to the same way of 
being saved?” 

“ I suppose,” said I, “ that, as poor human nature 
is, for the present, more is effected, on the whole, 
by letting us divide into sects, and giving us each 
some external or speculative discrepancies to ex- 
cite our zeal. It is a sad reflection upon us, if this 
be so, and our sectarian behavior illustrates that 
hardness of our hearts, in view of which, perhaps, 
God suffers us to divide as we do. But, still, you 
see how wisely God has ordained that good people 
shall not differ about essential things—that might be 
fatal to the success of his truth; but they are left 
to divide about forms, and ordinances, and some 
doctrinal ma ters which do not involve the ques- 


DIVISION INTO SECTS. 


113 


tion of the way to be saved. In that they all 
agree. 

Mrs. K. How pleasant it would be if they would 
all think alike ! 

Mr. M. Perhaps it might not be best at present. 
They should tolerate each other’s views, meet and 
act together where they may; but I do like to see 
a man heartily attached to his own denomination, 
without bigotry. I have not much partiality for 
those schemes of union which require and expect 
each sect to give up its peculiarities, and which 
seek to amalgamate us. It is unnatural. Let each 
be thoroughly persuaded of his own faith; — differ¬ 
ent temperaments and habits of thought are suited 
by different modes and forms; — but let us treat 
each other as Christians, and with urbanity and kind¬ 
ness. That is the most sublime spectacle of union. 
It comes nearer to fulfilling the prayer of Christ, 
u that they all may be one,” when we differ strongly, 
and yet keep the unity of the spirit. I am doubt¬ 
ful whether, even in heaven, there will not be such 
innocent diversity of views about things success¬ 
ively beyond our knowledge or comprehension, as 
to stimulate inquiry and discussion; but that we 
shall ever be capable, as we are here, of alienation, 
10 * 


114 


BAPTISM IN THE MILLENNIUM. 


in consequence of these varying opinions, is impos¬ 
sible. 

Mr. K. Do you not think, Mr. M., that we shall 
all think alike about baptism in the millennium? 

Mr. M. I suppose that you expect that we shall 
all give up infant baptism. But my expectation is 
that, as we approach that day, the last prophecy of 
the Old Testament will be as truly fulfilled as it 
was at the coming of Christ, and that the hearts 
of the fathers will be turned to the children, and the 
hearts of the children to the fathers. Parental piety 
and discipline will be greatly promoted, and an at¬ 
tendant of it will be, I suppose, a greater use of 
the ordinance of infant baptism, demanded by the 
pious feelings of parents, as pious feeling in the 
regenerate craves the ordinance which commem¬ 
orates the love and sufferings of the Redeemer. 
The feelings of pious parents will require the or¬ 
dinance of infant baptism, as an expression of their 
earnest desire to have fellowship with God as the 
God of the believer and his offspring, the cove¬ 
nant-keeping God. It is to the increase and prev¬ 
alence of this feeling that I look now for an in¬ 
creasing observance of infant baptism; for, with¬ 
out such feeli g, the ordinance is an empty name. 


OBJECTION TO INFANT BAPTISM. 


115 


Where that feeling exists, it soon modifies the 
speculative views of a parent. As our conscious 
need of an atoning Saviour soon dispels the former 
difficulties about the doctrine of the Trinity, so a 
longing desire to have special covenanting with 
God for a dear child, makes the subject of God’s 
everlasting covenant with Abraham, as the great 
believer, and the father of believers, plain. 

Now. before I forget it, please let me tell you 
of an objection to infant baptism, which I lately 
met with, drawn from the effect of the prevalent 
practice of it in a community. 

The objection is, it prevents us, in a measure, 
from fulfilling Christ’s command, “ Go, teach all 
nations, baptizing them.” For, going into the Ro¬ 
man Catholic or Greek churches, or an Armenian 
country, and making converts, the missionaries 
cannot baptize them, for, alas ! they were baptized 
in infancy, and to rebaptize is against the law of 
the countries. 

Now, this seems to me no great calamity; for if 
the converts themselves recognize their baptism, 
and adopt it as profession of their faith, it is like a 
man’s acknowledging the hand and seal on an in¬ 
strument, made irregularly at first, but now, under 


116 


DECREASE OF ADULT BAPTISMS. 


competent circumstances, declared to be equiva* 
lent to his own act and deed at the date of this 
declaration. He would not need to re-write the 
document, nor to use wax or wafers again, except 
in witness of his acknowledging the original act. 
u Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet, if it be 
confirmed, no man disannulled or addeth thereto.” 

But, however it may be in such countries and 
communions as I have named, certainly it cannot 
be a calamity if the practice of infant baptism be¬ 
comes such a spiritual and practical thing, that 
young persons are generally converted, so that 
adult baptisms disappear. I love to notice, when 
several persons join our church, how few of them 
receive baptism, showing that tfceir baptism in 
childhood has been followed by conversion. The 
fewness of adult baptisms, with us, compared with 
cases of infant baptism, is a good sign. They will 
be fewer and fewer, in proportion as our parents 
make and keep covenant with God for their chil¬ 
dren. 

Mr. Kelly was at this moment called out, but 
requested me to remain and finish the conversa¬ 
tion with Mrs. K. She resumed it, saying: 

u Had I better read any more on the subject ? 


A mother’s plea. 


117 


My feelings lead me strongly to take our little one 
to church. I feel that I should be strengthened 
by the solemn act of doing what the covenant of 
your church says, 1 avouching the Lord Jehovah to 
be your God and the God of your children for¬ 
ever.’ I do wish to feel that I have done some¬ 
thing like bearing testimony before God, in a 
special way, that I give my child to him, and en¬ 
gage God to be his God.” 

Mr. M. I should candidly examine whatever Mr. 
K. wishes you to read or hear on the subject, and 
not be afraid of the truth, let it lead where it may. 
But what first made you think of baptizing your 
little boy ? 

Mrs. K. I always loved the ordinance. But, 
when I thought that Henry was going to die, I 
was watching him all night, and, as I was praying, 
it occurred to me that I wished I could see the 
church praying for him; and that led me to think 
of the church praying for a child when it is 
brought into the house of God. I felt that night 
that, if I could speak to the pastor, I would ask 
him to request the prayers of the church for him 
as for one who, if he got well, should be brought 
into the house of God, and be publicly consecrated. 


118 


THE GOD OP BETHEL. 


and 1 with Mm, again, as his mother, to the Lord 
I had given him and myself to God; but I felt the 
need of some more special act, on which I could 
fall back in my thoughts, and of which God would 
graciously say to me, u I am the God of Bethel, 
where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou 
vowedst a vow unto me.” 

Mr. M. How kind it was in God to remind Ja¬ 
cob of that pile of stones, and to call himself the 
God of Bethel! 0, how he loves marked exercises 
of consecration and love ! 

Mrs. K. My husband always said, u Let him offer 
himself for baptism when he grows up, and under¬ 
stands the meaning of it.’ 7 I told him that when I 
was admitted to the church I was not baptized, 
but I had this pleasant feeling, that I had a bap¬ 
tism in infancy by my dear good mother to think 
of now, and to seal by my own acknowledgment. 
If Henry had died without being baptized, or 
should now be hindered from it, I should never 
cease to grieve. 

Mr. M. You thftik, however, that he would be 
saved, nevertheless. 

Mrs. K. 0, saved ! that is not all. I do not 
think merely of his getting into heaven. Though 


HANNAH ANL HER OFFERING. 


119 


we are saved wholly by grace, is there not some¬ 
thing implied in “ washing our robes, and making 
them white, in the blood of the Lamb ” ? I do not 
believe in justification by works nor by sacraments, 
yet I do believe in their wonderful effect, through 
grace alone, upon our character and future condi¬ 
tion. I do believe, Mr. M., that there is a difference 
between children whose parents, impelled by love to 
God, make public offering of their children to him, 
with solemn vows, and daily perform their vows, 
treating their children as baptized in the name of 
the Trinity, and children whose parents either 
carelessly baptize them, or feel no such spiritual 
desires for them as to seek the use of any public 
ordinance, nor any special private consecration. I 
believe that God regards them differently. He 
has placed his mark on the baptized. I must go 
with my son to God’s house, as Hannah did, and 
with her feelings. How strange ! She prayed 
for that son, and then, as soon as he was weaned, 
she gave him away to God; for it is beautifully 
said, you know, “ And the child was young.” 
Well, I think I understand that. I could leave 
Henry in the temple, if the service of God’s house 
required him; for, when he was sick, I gave him 


120 


THE CONCLUSION. 


up to God, and as long as he liveth he shall be 
the Lord’s. How did cousin Bertha feel about 
the baptism after your little boy died ? 

Mr. M. It was often the chief topic of her con¬ 
versation. Her father wrote a full statement of 
his views, which helped her greatly. We have 
read it over since we lost our child. I will send 
it to you, if you wish. You can read it, with Mr. 
K.’s books, and I wish you to show it to him if he 
cares to see it. 

All this was done. Kind feelings prevailed ; 
there was not much discussion, and, one Sabbath 
morning, little Henry Kelly was brought to church. 
But the mother was without the father. He was 
called to a distant place on business ; but he 
allowed his wife to act her pleasure in the case 
during his long absence. More of this in its 
place. 


C|ajjtu luurtlr. 

IS THERE ONLY ONE MODE OF BAPTISM? 

Were love, in these the world’s last doting years, 

As frequent as the want of it appears, 

The churches warmed, they would no longer hold 
Such frozen figures, stiff as they are cold ; 

Relenting forms would lose their power, or cease, 

And e’en the dipped and sprinkled live in peace ; 

Each heart would quit its prison in the breast, 

And flow in free communion with the rest. 

Cowper. 

Opening my entry door, on my return, several 
faces looked out to welcome me, all in the house 
having waited till a late hour, with surmises as to 
the cause of my long absence, and then all dis¬ 
persed, except the venerable, and not yet aged, 
grandmother of little Bertha. With her it was 
always pleasant to talk. 

Mr.M. Have you had no company this evening? 
I was in hopes that the Moores would come in, as 
Ihey promised to do. 

Mother. They have been gone nearly an hour. 

11 


122 


ORIGINAL MODE OF BAPTISM. 


Mr. Moore wished to read husband’s letter, so 
Bertha lent it to him. 

Mr. M. Father will be glad to know how much 
good his letter is doing. Cousin Eunice would be 
glad to see it, and I wish to read it again, for I 
find that I am likely to need more instruction, if I 
am to discuss the subject as I did this evening 
with Mr. Kelly. 

Mother. Was he at home ? I hope you did not 
get into a controversy about baptism; for, of all 
things, nothing dries up religious feelings like 
that. 

Mr. M. The subject has taken too practical a 
hold upon my feelings to have that effect. I find 
myself more and more led to believe that God 
gave his church an appointed form of baptism, and 
that that form was sprinkling; for I search the New 
Testament in vain for a single case where immer¬ 
sion seems to have been practised. I believe that, 
under the operation of early tendencies, of which 
Paul writes to the Thessalonians, the church be¬ 
gan to prefer immersion as more sensuous, making 
a stronger appeal to the passions. But I believe, 
with the New Testament for my guide, that im¬ 
mersion was not practised by the apostles them- 


ORIGINAL MODE OF BAPTISM. 


123 


selves. The word baptize had, even in the Sa¬ 
viour’s time, to go no further back, come to mean 
a thing done irrespective of the mode. How 
would it sound, “ I have an immersion to be im¬ 
mersed with, and how am I straitened”? &c. “Are 
ye able to be immersed with the immersion that I 
am immersed with ? ” I believe that sprinkling 
was the original mode of Christian baptism. And 
it seems to me unlikely that God would appoint an 
ordinance, and not appoint, by precept or example, 
the mode of it. I believe that the mode of bap¬ 
tism was appointed, as well as the rite itself, and I 
see no instance of baptism in the New Testament 
by immersion. Pouring, whether more or less 
copiously, has this probability in its favor, in addi¬ 
tion to the impression which the narratives make, 
viz., The Lord’s Supper typifies the death of Christ. 
Burying in baptism, then, would be superfluous; it 
is more likely that the form of this other sacrament 
would represent something else, and that is, the 
Holy Spirit’s cleansing influence, because Christ 
speaks of being “ born of water and of the Spirit,” 
thus associating water with the Spirit. We more¬ 
over read of “ the water and the blood,” water 
thus being distinguished from blood. Now, the 


124 


THE MODE UNESSENTIAL. 


Holy Spirit is always named in connection with 
being poured out. We are baptized with, not in, 
the Holy Ghost. It would do violence to oui 
feelings to hear one speak of our being immersed 
in the Holy Spirit. So that I fully believe in 
sprinkling as the original New Testament mode 
of baptism. And, still, I am inclined to agree with 
your friend, the professor, who spent New-year’s 
evening with us, and has just published a book on 
baptism. 

Mother. What ground does he take ? 

Mr. M. He writes somewhat in this way: As 
to the mode, I believe it to be unessential; for it 
seems to me contrary to the genius of Christianity 
to make a particular form of doing a thing essential 
to the thing. What else is there in Christianity, 
if we are to except baptism, in which modes are 
regarded or made essential ? It is not so, he 
says, with the Lord’s Supper, surely ; the upper 
room, night, sitting or reclining, unleavened bread, 
a particular kind of wine, and all such things, are 
not regarded by any as necessary to the ordi¬ 
nance. It is very interesting, he says, to notice, 
that, whereas the old dispensation prescribed the 
mode of every religious act, minutely, and a de- 


MODES IN SACRAMENTS. 


125 


parture from it vitiated the act itself, Christianity 
threw off everything like prescriptive modes alto¬ 
gether. Considering the attachment of the hu¬ 
man mind to forms and ceremonies, he knows of 
nothing in which Christianity shows its divine 
origin and supernatural power more, than in its 
sublime triumph, so immediately, in the minds of 
great numbers, over forms and ceremonies. We 
can hardly conceive, he says, what a revolution 
a Jew must have experienced in giving up Aaron, 
and altars, and times, and seasons, and all the mi¬ 
nute regard for his religious ceremonies, at once. 
Even if it were the original practice to baptize 
only by immersion, he cannot think that Christian 
ity could have enjoined it as the only proper mode 
of applying water, in signifying religious consecra¬ 
tion. Bread and wine, eaten and drunk decently 
Rnd in order, in any way whatever, constitutes 
the Lord’s Supper; water, applied to the person, 
by a proper administrator, in the name of the Trin¬ 
ity, constitutes Christian baptism ; but, had the 
New Testament required us to recline, and lean on 
one arm, and take the Lord’s Supper with the 
other arm, insisting that this posture is essential 
to that sacrament, or had it specified the quantity 
11 * 


126 


MODES IN SACEAMENTS. 


of bread and wine, he thinks it would have been 
parallel to the uninspired requirement of a partic¬ 
ular mode in applying the water in baptism. 

“ Baptize ,’ 7 he further remarks, it is said, means 
immerse. Suppose that it does. Supper means a 
meal; therefore, one does not u eat the Lord’s Sup¬ 
per,” unless he eats a full meal; for, if baptize re¬ 
fers to the quantity of water, supper refers to the 
quantity of food and drink in the other sacrament. 
He then seems to exult, and says, “ I am glad that 
I am not in conscientious subjection to any mode 
of doing anything in religion, as being essential to 
the thing itself.” 

Mother. What answer can be made to this ? 

Mr. M. It is a very common ground, and a con¬ 
venient one, to answer the argument from haptizo , 
and the early practice of immersion in the Chris¬ 
tian church after the apostles. No doubt the early 
Christians satisfied themselves with this reasoning, 
in departing from the apostolic practice of sprin¬ 
kling. But I prefer to adhere strictly to the New 
Testament model. There is no immersion there. 
Now, is it allowable to depart from the original 
mode ? This could not be done in the first initi¬ 
ating ordinance of the church, — circumcision. A 


MODES IN SACRAMENTS. 


127 


departure from the prescribed rule would have 
vitiated the ordinance. But, does not Christianity 
differ essentially from the former dispensation in 
this very particular, that it does not make the 
mode of doing a thing, essential? Yet, it may be 
said, Human ordinances are all strictly binding 
in the very forms prescribed. For example: 11 Hold 
up your right hand/’ says the clerk, or judge, to a 
witness; *“you solemnly swear—Let the wit¬ 
ness, instead of holding up his right hand, if he has 
one, and can move it, capriciously say, u I prefer 
to hold up the left, or to hold up both. 1 wish to 
show that modes and forms are unimportant.” He 
would be in danger of contempt of court. If so 
small a departure from the mode of swearing 
would not be allowed, much less would he be per¬ 
mitted to kneel, or to lie on his face, unless he 
were some devotee. No ; there is a prescribed 
form, and he must yield to it. It is also said, that, 
if there were cases in the New Testament in which 
it were doubtful, at least, whether immersion were 
not practised, we might argue in favor of mixed 
modes. But immersion is baptism, in my view, 
because a person who is immersed is sure to get 
affused; and, affusion with water is all of the bap- 


128 


THE INFANT JESUS. 


tism which seems to me essential. Leaving those 
who first departed from the apostolic mode of bap¬ 
tism by sprinkling, to answer for themselves, no 
one, of course, will deny that those who conscien¬ 
tiously think that they ought to be baptized by 
immersion, are acceptable with God, as well as 
others who are of a contrary persuasion. Paul 
speaks of u divers baptisms.” There began to be 
such in his day. He speaks also of the •“ doctrine 
of baptisms ” (plural), showing the same thing. 

But I came near forgetting one thing, which I 
wished to say, which is, that, in reading the Bible 
last evening, I found a new encouragement in tak 
ing infants to the house of God. 

Mother. I should like to hear anything new on 
that point. I thought that everything had been 
exhausted which referred to that subject. 

Mr. M. I mean that it was new to me. Luke 
says that the parents of Jesus brought him to Jeru¬ 
salem “ to present him to the Lord,” and that, arriv¬ 
ing there, they brought him into the temple to do 
for him after the custom of the law. Now, I 
always carelessly thought that this meant circum¬ 
cision. 

Mother. Of course it does; I always thought so. 


THE INFANT JESUS. 


129 


Mr. M. No ; for he had already been circum¬ 
cised, when he was eight days old. “ And when 
eight days were accomplished for the circumcising 
of the child, they called his name Jesus.” Then 
the next verse speaks of a subsequent act: “ When 
the days of her purification were accomplished 
they brought him to Jerusalem.” Mary could not 
have come to Jerusalem on the eighth day; but, on 
the second occasion, she was present; for Simeon 
addressed her. So that we have the example of 
the infant Saviour, in bringing our infants into the 
temple; and, if we are scrupulous as to following 
the Saviour in ordinances, we may as well begin 
by following him into the temple, with our infants. 

Mother. It is beautiful to think of Jesus, even in 
his infancy, as an example, and that he was fore¬ 
runner to the infants of his people, while yet in his 
mother’s arms. 


CJraptn Jfiftfr. 

SCENE 1 OF BAPTISE —HENRY KELLY.—THE YOUNG PARENTS AND THEIR BABE.— 
THE LOST MARIN UR’S FAMILY.—THE FEEBLE-MINDED YOUTH.—THE REASONA¬ 
BLENESS, POWER, AND BEAUTY, OF CHILDREN’S BAPTISMS.—HUSBANDS SHOULD 
COME WITH THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN. — MOSES IN THE INN. 

Since, Lord, to thee 
A narrow way and little gate 
Is all the passage ; on my infancy 
Thou didst lay hold, and antedate 
My faith in me. 

George Herbert. 

The parent pair their secret homage pay, 

And proffer up to Heaven the warm request, 

That He, who stills the raven’s clamorous nest, 

And decks the lily fair in flowery pride, 

Would, in the way his wisdom sees the best, 

For them and for their little ones provide, 

But chiefly in their hearts, with grace divine, preside. 

Burns. 

In all men sinful is it to be slow 
To hope : in parents, sinful above all. 

Wordsworth. 

In a few Sabbaths from this time we had a most 
interesting scene at our church. 

Little Henry Ferguson Kelly was brought, and 


SCENES OF BAPTISM. 


131 


offered up in baptism by his mother. We all felt 
deep respect for her as a woman of decided char¬ 
acter, and a devoted Christian. We saw that she 
wept much during the service. The father was 
not there. She held the little boy upright on her 
arm, and he turned his face over her shoulder, look¬ 
ing all about the church, above and below. He 
then undertook to apply his little palm to his 
mother’s cheek, with several decided strokes, to 
rouse her usual attention, which he seemed to 
miss. She took his hand in hers, and held it, and 
he then rested his cheek, and his chin, alternately, 
upon her shoulder. 

A sweet little girl, two months old, was also 
brought by a young couple to be baptized. Few 
things are more interesting than the sight of a 
young couple, with their first-born child, stand¬ 
ing before God. A world of thought and feeling 
passes through their minds in those hallowed mo¬ 
ments. Not much more than a year had gone since 
they stood before God to take the vows of mar¬ 
riage from those same lips, perhaps, which now 
lead their devotions, and bless them out of the 
house of the Lord. The little child is an offering 
which gathers about itself more of rich joy and 


132 


SCENES OP BAPTISM. 


gratitude, recollection, present bliss, and anticipa¬ 
tion, than any gift of God; it is itself an ordi¬ 
nance, a little rite, a sign and seal of covenants and 
love to which earth has no parallel. The light of 
nature almost teaches us the propriety of infant 
dedication, in the use of the prevailing religious 
rite. The only wise God manifested his goodness 
and wisdom, in establishing his covenant with the 
children of those who love him, as really as in 
creating a companion for Adam. 

There .were other sights, on this baptismal occa- 
sion, besides Henry Ferguson and his mother, and 
the young couple with their child. 

A woman, in the habiliments of the deepest 
mourning, went up the aisle, leading with her 
finger a little boy between two and three years 
old, followed by a noble son of fifteen, and his 
sister of twelve. Our pastor's rule, as to the 
limit of age within which children may be admitted 
to baptism, is this: So long as a parent, or guar¬ 
dian, or next friend, has the immediate tutelage of 
a child, so as to direct its instruction and govern¬ 
ment, and thus continues to exercise parental 
authority, he may properly offer the child for 
baptism; and therefore, as children differ as to 


SCENES OF BAPTISM 


133 


degrees of maturity within the same ages, no 
express boundary of time can be prescribed to limit 
those baptisms which are by the faith of another. 

The father of these three children had been 
lost at sea on a whaling voyage. The seaman’s 
chest had come home, and so the last star of hope 
as to his return had set. The mother had become 
a Christian;.she felt the need of a covenant-keep¬ 
ing God for her children. There she stood, a 
sorrow-stricken woman, and her household with 
her, to receive for them the sign of the covenant 
from the God of Abraham. 

There was another sight in that group: A man 
and woman, honest, good people, in humble circum¬ 
stances, had had bequeathed to them, by a widowed 
sister of his, who was not a professor of religion, 
a feeble-minded youth of about ten years; and 
this uncle and aunt had adopted him as their child. 
They also came, the husband leading the boy along, 
with his arm over the boy’s shoulder to encourage 
his hesitating steps, and the wife behind them. 
He was a member of a Sabbath-school class; 
by no means an idiot, yet deficient in some re¬ 
spects. He was entrusted with affairs about a 
farm which did not require much responsibility. 

12 


134 


SCENES OF BAPTISM. 


Little Henry Ferguson began to coo and crow, 
as they came successively and stood, in a half-circle, 
round the table with the silver basin upon it. The 
feeble-minded youth was mostly occupied with the 
actions of Henry, who, on seeing his face covered 
with uncontrollable expressions of interest in him, 
began to reach after him, and respond to his 
pleased looks; nor did he cease his efforts to go 
to him, till he felt the minister’s hand upon his 
forehead from behind, when he turned his large, 
beautiful eyes into the face of the minister, with 
silent wonder at being apparently spoken to with 
so unusual a manner and tone. A hush went 
through the congregation. 

The young couple next presented their little 
Alice, and gave place to the widow’s household. 
Was there a dry eye in the house? Signs of 
weeping came from all sides. Mortimer was led 
by his arm in his mother’s hand, and was baptized. 
Sarah loosened her straw bonnet, and let it fall back 
from her head, to receive the simple rite ; when the 
widow lifted the little boy, who had never known 
a father’s love, and the pastor, after waiting a 
moment to control his emotions sealed him in the 
name of our redeeming G-od. 


SCENES OF BAPTISM. 


135 


After an involuntary pause for a few moments, 
owing to the deep emotion in the congregation, 
poor Josey was led forward. Minister and congre¬ 
gation seemed to make but slight impression upon 
him; Henry Ferguson was the charm throughout; 
he even turned his head, while the minister’s hand 
was on it, to smile at the child. The promise was 
not only to those believing parents, all of them, 
and to their own children, but to him that was 
afar off; his new parents having availed themselves 
of the large covenant of grace, to invoke its prom¬ 
ised blessings upon him, on the ground of their 
faith. “ May these parents,” said the pastor in his 
prayer, “ remember, in all times of solicitude and 
trouble with this dear dependent child, that the 
Holy Spirit, the Comforter, in whose name he is 
•baptized, can have access to his mind , 1 making wise 
the simple; ’ and may that blessed Spirit make him 
his care.” 

Part of the time, while the hymij following tht 
baptism was read and sung, I found myself pursu¬ 
ing some thoughts which the interesting scene just 
w* messed had suggested. 

Why, I asked myself, could not thesrs parents 
have been satisfied with dedicating these children 


136 


USE OF SPECIAL VOWS. 


at home, without this public and special act of 
consecration ? 

I was at no loss for an answer. The same 
reason applies as when one seeks admission to the 
church of Christ, by a public profession of religion, 
either by appearing before a congregation and 
assenting to a covenant, or to be confirmed, or to 
be immersed in water. Offering a child in baptism 
is making a public profession of religion with re¬ 
gard to it. Some say to us, What need is there 
of joining a church? Why may I not be a Chris¬ 
tian by myself? We know what we say, in reply 
to such questions. We are aware how much the 
public act helps the private feelings and conduct, 
besides being required by our feelings when they 
are deep and strong. I thought of this illustra¬ 
tion: In the wakeful moments of the night, upon 
a lonely bed, one feels a special nearness to God. 
He can think of God, as he lies upon his pillow, 
both with prayer and meditation; but suppose 
that he rises from his bed and kneels at the bed¬ 
side, and, with oral prayer, prevents the night- 
watches, and cries ? His voice at that midnight 
hour affects his mind; the darkness and stillness 
impress him with a sense of the presence of God, 


USE OF SPECIAL YOWS. 


137 


and though his ejaculations on his pillow were 
acceptable, has he not probably done that which, 
through Christ, is peculiarly acceptable to God, 
and is profitable to himself as his child ? He 
who was always in communion with the Father, 
the man Christ Jesus, nevertheless, sometimes 
withdrew into a mountain, and continued all night 
in prayer, and, rising up a great while^before day, 
he went into a solitary place, and there prayed. 
These special acts of worship, no true Christian 
needs to be told, ^re good and acceptable to God, 
and profitable for men. We do not refrain from 
them, pleading that they are nowhere commanded 
in the New Testament, or, that, so long as we pray 
at stated times, or strive to live in a praying frame, 
these special devotions are superfluous. So, while 
it is our duty and privilege to dedicate our chil¬ 
dren to God in private, it is acceptable to him, 
and profitable to us, if we take them, and bring 
an offering, and come into his courts. 

The baptism of the feeble-minded youth fur¬ 
nished me with an illustration of the suitableness 
of parents and guardians doing for children, in 
religion, that which they are constantly doing for 
them in common things, that is, conferring privi- 
12 * 


138 


PUBLIC BAPTISMS. 


leges and blessings upon them without their con¬ 
sent. There seemed to be such an illustration of 
the riches of free grace, in the baptism of this poor 
child, such a comment on that passage, “ I am 
found of them that sought me not,” it corre¬ 
sponded so much with the kindness and love of 
God our Saviour towards man, that we all felt in¬ 
structed and softened by it, and, at the same time, 
we all had feelings toward that helpless boy, such 
as we, perhaps, never could have had but for his 
baptism. Never will a member of that witnessing 
congregation see him, without a feeling of tender¬ 
ness and something bordering on respect; he will 
not be merely “ Silly Joe ” to them; that element 
of truth in the heathen superstition, which leads 
heathens and pagans to regard an idiot as some¬ 
thing sacred, will have its verification with regard 
to him; the children of that assembly will be re¬ 
strained from rudeness and cruelty, in their sports 
with him, by that transaction, while the prayers 
offered for him at the time, and the many ejacula¬ 
tions which the sight of him will occasion in the 
hearts of good people, will make his baptistn one 
of his richest blessings. 0, what a loss it is to 
have a child baptized at home, or anywhere and at 


HUSBANDS AT BAPTISMS. 


139 


any time except among the public services of the 
Sabbath in the sanctuary of God ! Necessity, in¬ 
deed, controls our choice, many times, in this thing; 
and we are accepted of God irrespective of time 
and place, in yielding to his providence. 

Since my mind has been deeply interested in this 
subject, leading me to converse with parents and 
with ministers, and to make observation with regard 
to it, I have seen and heard many things relating to 
the providences of God, in connection with the bap¬ 
tism of children, which, while we ought to be slow 
in confidently interpreting providences, make us 
do as Mary is said to have done, in regard to things 
relating to her child, — she “ kept these things and 
pondered them in her heart.” We cannot say, for 
example, that the death of that little girl, whose 
father refused to let his wife enjoy the privilege 
of going, alone, with the child, to the house of God 
for baptism, or to invite the pastor to his house 
for the purpose, was a judicial consequence of 
his conduct; but we know that his own thoughts 
trouble him, and that he has a sorrow bound upon 
his heart, which he will carry with him to his 
grave. 

Neither is it certain that the little one, who 


140 


HUSBANDS AT BAPTISMS. 


was raised to life from a sickness which baffled the 
physicians, was spared to her pious mother for her 
Christian behavior, in taking it, a few months be¬ 
fore, to the house of God, and offering it in bap¬ 
tism, with no help from her husband, but with many 
sad thoughts that the father of the child — he on 
whose arm she and the child needed to rest — 
refused her gentle and affectionate pleadings with 
him, to support and cherish her at an hour so pre¬ 
cious to her heart. Nor will we say that the kind 
and obliging husband, not a professor of religion, 
who served his wife so manfully, and with such a 
cheerful spirit, on such an occasion, would not have 
acquired, in other ways, the respect and love of 
the people, or that he could trace to it, absolutely, 
great prosperity in business, through the assist¬ 
ance of prominent members in that church. Sure 
we are that no such motive influenced him; but it is 
equally true that we cannot link ourselves to God’s 
service, nor to his friends, in any way, without- 
receiving his blessing. “ Come thou with us, and 
we will do thee good.” 11 Blessed is he that bless- 
eth thee.” In the eyes of estimable people, and 
of all whose good opinion and best wishes are 
most desirable, the man who overcomes any little 


MOSES IN THE INN. 


141 


pride, or sensitiveness, or fear of man, and goes 
with his pious wife and child to the house of God, 
and offers the child, for her, to be baptized, is 
more of a man than before, gains reputation for 
some desirable qualities, excites respect for self- 
reliance, the quiet performance of a duty from 
which certain feelings might lead him to shrink, 
and in the increased love and esteem of others, 
to say no more, he has his reward. 

God was angry with Moses for delaying, if not 
neglecting, to circumcise his child. His wife was 
a Midianite; her associations with the ordinance 
were not like those of Moses, and perhaps he had 
yielded too much to her known feelings. At 
least, the child had not been circumcised, and we 
are told, 11 The Lord met him in the inn, and 
sought to slay him.” Some accident there, or a 
sudden and alarming illness, made him feel that 
God had a controversy with him. Zipporah was 
not slow to interpret the providence. If Moses 
had said with himself, So long as I consecrate my 
child to God by prayer, the seal of the covenant 
cannot be essential, God taught him his mistake. 
As soon as the rite had been performed, we read, 
“ So he let him go.” It may be noticed, here, that 


142 


NEGLECT OP BAPTISM. 


the unworthy manner in which Zipporah performed 
the rite, did not make it invalid. They who fear 
that their baptism was not solemnized, in all re¬ 
spects, as it should have been, may draw instruc¬ 
tion and comfort from this narrative. 

There have been instances, within my knowledge, 
in which one or both of the parents of a child 
have yielded to some untoward influences, and have 
withheld the child from being baptized. While I 
cannot, and would not, interpret certain events con 
nected with this omission, on the part of some 
from whom better things might have been ex¬ 
pected, nothing has ever impressed me more than 
the dealings of God with such parents. I have 
been made to think by such coincidences, more 
than once or twice, of Moses in the inn. It will 
not be amiss to say, that those who are neglecting 
to bring their children for baptism, within a suitable 
time, unless providentially hindered, will do well 
to examine their feelings and motives, with that 
quickened conscience, which the solemn provi¬ 
dences of God toward them may be intended to 
excite. He is “a jealous God;” and he keepeth 
covenant “to a thousand generations.” 


Testimony of the Christian Fathihs 

HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS. — “ PACDOBAPTIST CONCESSIONS.” — TH' MA; SHEPAPD’S 
VIEWS. BAPTISM OF HIS CHILD. THE FATHER’S RECORD. — G lEAT INFLUENCE 
OF THE FAMILY RELATION IN HEATHENISM AND PAGANISM.—THE YOUNG PEOPLE 
OF AMERICA. — DISSUASIVE FROM ALTERCATION. — QUESTIONS TO A MINISTER ON 

i 

HIS PRACTICE IN BAPTISMS.—LIBERALITY.— PAUL AN EXAMPLE. 

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. — Ps. 90 . 

The Lamb hath but one bride, the one church of all times. — Anon. 

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of 
God. — The Apostle Paul. 

Schoolmen must war with schoolmen, text with text. 

The first’s the Chaldee paraphrase ; the next 
The Septuagint ; opinion thwarts opinion 5 
The Papist holds the first, the last the Arminian 5 
And then the Councils must be called to advise, 

What this of Lateran says, and that of Nice 5 
The slightly-studied fathers must be prayed, 

Although in small acquaintance, into aid ; 

When, daring venture, oft, too far into’t, 

They, Pharaoh like, are drowned, both horse and foot. 

Francis Quarles. 


Being determined to possess myself of suitable 
information on the subject of baptism as practised 


144 


THE CHRISTIAN FATHERS. 


by tlie early Christian fathers, I called the next 
evening to see my pastor, when the following con¬ 
versation took place: 

Mr. M. I wish, sir, to know the plain and simple 
truth about the evidence from ecclesiastical his¬ 
tory with regard to infant baptism. The internal 
evidence, confirming the scriptural argument, fully 
satisfies me, yet, as a matter of interesting informa¬ 
tion, I should like to know how it was regarded in 
the age next to that of the apostles. You know 
we often read, and hear it said, that infant baptism 
is an error which crept into the Christian church 
about the third century. Now, did it creep in ; or 
did the apostles practise it ? 

Dr. D. If infant baptism crept into the church, 
and if it be an unauthorized innovation, one thing 
seems very strange, that, in this Protestant age, 
when we are all so jealous of Romish and all hu¬ 
man inventions in matters of religion, the ablest 
and soundest men of all Christian denominations 
but one, are firmly persuaded of its scriptural 
authority, and are increasingly attached to it. In 
the great reformations which have arisen from 
time to time, this practice would have been swept 
away, had it been an error. It is more than we 


ORIGEN. 


145 


can believe that Protestant denominations should 
all, with one exception, adhere to an nnscriptural 
practice, at the present day especially. 

Mr. M. Well, sir, leaving the scripturalness of 
the ordinance out of question, what support does 
the practice get from church history ? How far 
back to the times of the apostles can we trace it ? 
Did any practise it who could have received it 
from the apostles, or have known those who did ? 

Dr. D. You must come with me into my study, 
and we will examine the authorities. 

I will not burden your attention and memory 
with many citations. Two or three indisputable 
witnesses are better than a host. I rely chiefly on 
the testimony of Origen for proof that the practice 
of infant baptism was derived from the apostles, 
though I will show you that his testimony is con¬ 
firmed by other witnesses. 

Origen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, a. d. 
185, that is, about eighty-five years after the death 
of the apostle John. To make his nearness to the 
apostles clear to your mind, consider, that Roger 
Williams, for example, established himself at Prov¬ 
idence in 1636, say two hundred and twenty years 
ago; yet how perfectly informed we are of his 
13 


146 


ORIGEN. 


opinions and history. But Origen, born eighty- 
five years only after the death of John, knew, of 
course, the established practices of the apostles, 
which had come down through so short a space of 
time. “ His grandfather, if not his father, must 
have lived in the apostles’ day. It was not, there¬ 
fore, necessary for him to go out of his own family, 
to learn what was the practice of the apostles. He 
knew whether he had himself been baptized, if we 
may judge from his writings, and he must have 
known the views of his father and grandfather on 
the subject. He had the reputation of great learn¬ 
ing, had travelled extensively, had lived in Greece, 
Borne, Cappadocia, and Arabia, though he spent 
the principal part of his life in Syria and Pales¬ 
tine.” 

I would place implicit reliance on the testimony 
of such a man, under such circumstances, to any 
question of history with which he professed to be 
familiar, even if I differed from him in matters of 
opinion. But such a man would not state, for 
veritable history, that which the world knew to 
be false. 

Now, what is Origen’s testimony as to the fact, 


ORIGEN. 


147 


simply, of the apostolic usage with regard to infant 
baptism ? 

In his commentary on the Epistle to the Ho¬ 
mans, Book v., he says: 

“ For this cause it was that the church received 
an order from the apostles to give baptism even 
to infants.” 

In his homily on Lev. 12, he says : 

“ According to the usage of the church, baptism 
is given even to infants, when, if there were noth¬ 
ing in infants that needed forgiveness and mercy, 
the grace of baptism would seem to be super¬ 
fluous.” 

In his homily on Luke 14, he says: 

“Infants are baptized for the forgiveness of 
sins.” 

It was the practice, then, in Origen’s day, to 
baptize infants. He tells the people of his day, to 
whom he preaches and writes, why it was that the 
church had received a command from the apostles 
to baptize them, not proving to them the fact of 
history, but, taking that as well known, explain¬ 
ing the theological reason for it, as he under¬ 
stood it. 

It is now 1857. Eighty-five years ago, the 


148 


ORIGEN. 


length of time after the apostles to the birth of 
this man, brings ns back to 1772. There is good 
Dr. Sales, who was born in 1770. Suppose that 
he should say that steamboats came from England 
at the time that the Hudson river was discovered, 
and that they had plied there ever since? 

No man in his right mind (not to say a scholar 
like Origen), however singular his opinions, would 
assert, for veritable history, that which was as pal¬ 
pably false as such a fiction respecting steamboat 
navigation upon the Hudson would be. Yet Ori¬ 
gen asserts that the practice of infant baptism was 
received directly from the apostles. Everybody 
could contradict him if he were in error. 

Mr. M. But we know that he was in error in 
saying that forgiveness of sins was a consequence 
of baptism. 

Dr. D. Yery well. The erroneous opinions, or 
practices, of men, with regard to the shape of the 
earth, did not prove that there was no earth in 
their day. On the contrary, their theories and 
speculations are proof, if any were needed, that 
the earth then existed, surely. A man who boldly 
advocates a theory, fears to assert for fact that 
which all the world knows to be false. 


TERTULLIAN. 


149 


Mr. M. If infant baptism were then practised, 
and had been received from the apostles, why- 
should Origen assert it .in his books, and in preach¬ 
ing, since everybody must have known it suffi¬ 
ciently. Does not this prove that it was not gen¬ 
erally believed ? 

Dr. D. Why, my dear sir, am I not every 
Sabbath telling how that Christ died for our sins 
according to the Scriptures ? People do not need 
to be informed of it as a truth of history, but they 
need to be reminded of it, and to be exhorted in 
view of it. So of every doctrine, and everything 
connected with religion. We tell the plainest, the 
most familiar, truths to our church-members, con¬ 
tinually; and the common repetition of those 
truths is, rather, a proof of their general accepta¬ 
tion than otherwise. 

Mr. M. In a court of justice, such testimony as 
that of Origen would certainly be conclusive, in 
the case of a patent-right, or maritime discovery. 
But you said that there were other testimonies of 
equal weight. 

Dr. D. Tertullian was born at Carthage, not 
far from A. D. 150, that is, about fifty years after 
the apostles. He wrote, therefore, within a hun- 
13* 


150 


TERTULLIAX. 


dred years of the apostle John. But he was a 
man of pec uliar views, extravagant in his opinions, 
an enthusiast in everything. He proves that the 
practice of infant baptism was established, by argu¬ 
ing against the expediency of baptizing children, 
and unmarried persons, lest they should sin after 
baptism. His argument, with respect to both these 
classes of persons, is the same. His language is, 
“ If any understand the weight of baptismal obli¬ 
gations, they will be more fearful about taking 
them than of delay.” He argued that baptism 
should be deferred till people were in a condition 
to resist temptation. These are his words : 

11 Therefore, according to every person’s condi¬ 
tion, and disposition, and age, also, the delay of 
baptism is more profitable, especially as to little 
children. For why is it necessary that the spon¬ 
sors should incur danger ? For they may either 
fail of their promises by death, or may be disap¬ 
pointed by a child’s proving to be of a wicked dis¬ 
position. Our Lord says, indeed, ‘ Forbid them 
not to come to me.’ Let them come, then, when 
they are grown up; let them come when they 
understand; let them come when they are taught 
whither they come ; let them become Christians 


TERTULLIAN. 


151 


when they are able to know Christ. Why should 
their innocent age make haste to the forgiveness 
of sins ? Men act more cautiously in temporal 
concerns. Worldly substance is not committed to 
those to whom divine things are entrusted. Let 
them know how to ask for salvation, that you may 
seem to give to him that asketh. 

“ It is for a reason no less important that unmar¬ 
ried-persons, both those who were never married, 
and those who have been deprived of their part¬ 
ners, should, on account of their exposure to 
temptation, be kept waiting,” &c. 

As these extracts prove that the institution of 
marriage existed in Tertullian’s day, so they prove 
the existence then of infan£^baptism v Nothing 
can be more conclusive. How pertinent and use¬ 
ful to his object would it have been, could he 
have assailed the practice of infant baptism as a 
human invention! He would not have failed to 
use that line of attack, had it been possible. Now, 
as certain articles in the newspapers, in a distant 
part of the country, remonstrating against the 
street-railroads, for example, prove that street- 
railroads exist there, so does Tertullian’s argu¬ 
ment aga nst infant baptism prove that it was 


152 


COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE. 


practised within one hundred years after the 
apostles. 

Mr. 31. Is not this stronger, if anything, than 
Origen’s testimony, being so much nearer the 
apostolic age ? 

Dr. D. For that reason it may have more 
weight; but Origen’s testimony, being direct and 
positive, is most easily quoted. He was near 
enough to the apostolic age for all the purposes 
of credible testimony. 

There is another historical testimony, if you 
wish to hear of more, which has great weight. 

The Council of Carthage, one hundred and 
fifty years after the apostles, and composed of 
sixty-six pastors, has given us full testimony on 
the subject. A country presbyter, by the name of 
Fidus, had sent two cases for their adjudication. 
One was, u Whether an infant might be baptized 
before it was eight days old ? ” Here is the 
answer: 

“ Cyprian, and the rest of the presbyters who 
were present in the council, sixty-six in number, 
to Fidus our brother, Greeting: 

u -As to the case of Infants : whereas you 

judge that they must not be baptized within two 



COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE. 


153 


or three days after they were born, and that the 
rule of circumcision is to be observed, — we are 
all in the Council of a very different opinion. 5 '* 
11 This, therefore, was our opinion in the Council, 
that we ought not to hinder any person from bap¬ 
tism, and the grace of God. And this rule, as it 
holds for all, is, we think, more especially to be 
observed in reference to infants, even to those 
who are newly born. 55 

This was written, within a hundred and fifty 
years from the time of the apostles, by sixty-six 
ministers of Christ, some of whom, we may sup¬ 
pose, must have had grace enough to show a 
martyr-spirit in resisting so gross an invention as 
the baptizing of infants would have been, if apos¬ 
tolic example had restricted baptism to those who 
were capable of faith. Did Paul reprove an abuse 
of the Lord’s Supper, among the Corinthians, and 
would he not have given an injunction against so 
Jewish a superstition as the baptizing of children 
in place of the antiquated circumcision would have 
been, if it were not commanded, had the churches 
in his day seemed inclined to practise it ? 

Mr. M. All these things amount to a demonstra¬ 
tion, in my view. 


154 


AUGUSTINE. 


Dr. D. You would like to hear something from 
Augustine, whose “ Confessions ” you have read 
with so much interest. 

In his writings, on Genesis, Augustine says, 
about two hundred and eighty-eight years after 
the apostles, “The custom of our mother, the 
church, in baptizing infants, must not be dis¬ 
regarded nor accounted useless, and it must by all 
means be believed to be (apostolica traditio) a 
thing handed down to us by the apostles.” “ It is 
most justly believed to be no other than a thing 
delivered by apostolic authority; that it came not 
by a general council, or by any authority later or 
less than that of the apostles.” He also speaks of 
baptizing infants by the authority of the whole 
church, which, he says, was undoubtedly delivered 
to it by our Lord and his apostles. 

Augustine was a man of distinguished piety and 
learning, whose testimony is every way worthy of 
implicit confidence. But, connected with his his¬ 
tory, we have another substantial evidence with 
regard to the subject. He conducted a famous 
controversy against the Pelagians, who denied 
original sin. They were confronted with the 
argument from infant baptism. “ Why,” it was 


PELAGIUS. 


155 


said, “ are infants baptized, if they need no change 
of nature?” It would have been a triumphant an¬ 
swer could they have shown that it was an unsciip- 
tural practice, not countenanced by Christ or the 
apostles. But Pelagius said, “Men slander me 
as though I denied baptism to infants, whereas I 
never heard of any one, Catholic or heretic, who 
denied baptism to infants.” Pelagius and his 
friend Celestius, who was with him in the contro¬ 
versy, were born, the one in Britain, the other in 
Ireland. They lived for some years in Borne, 
where they knew people from all parts of the 
world. They had also lived in Carthage, Africa. 
One finally settled in Jerusalem, and the other 
travelled among all the churches in the principal 
places of Europe and Asia. But they had never 
heard of the man, not even a heretic, who had 
denied infant baptism. 

Here is another interesting proof. Irenseus, 
Philastrius, Augustine, Epiphanius, Theodoret, 
wrote catalogues of all the sects of Christians 
which they had ever heard of; but, while they 
make mention of some who denied baptism alto¬ 
gether, and with it, according to Augustine, a 


156 


WEIGHT OF THIS EVIDENCE. 


great part of scripture, they mention no denial of 
infant baptism by any sect whatever. 

Mr. M. I suppose, then, that the only way of 
disposing of this argument is by rejecting all tes¬ 
timony except that of the New Testament. Some 
say they can prove anything from the fathers; so 
they insist that the Bible alone must be our guide. 

Dr. D. They are right in making that the only 
and sufficient rule of faith and practice. But how 
do these good people and the rest of us know that 
the books of the Old Testament, as we have them, 
were the very books to which Christ and the apos¬ 
tles referred as the word of God? If infidels 
refuse to receive the Bible, saying, 1 There is no 
proof that these are the identical books known to 
Christ, and quoted by him and the apostles/ what 
shall we say? The Bible itself gives us no spe¬ 
cific direction how to prove its genuineness. It is 
interesting to observe that we go to uninspired 
men to prove that we really have the Bible as 
Christ and the apostles sanctioned it. We go to 
Josephus, neither inspired nor even a Christian; 
to the Talmud, to Jerome, Origen, Aquila, and 
other uninspired men, to find a list of the books 
which we are to receive as given by the inspira- 


COLLATERAL EVIDENCE. 


157 


tion of God. And, as to the New Testament, we 
go to Eusebius and other uninspired writers, and 
find that the Christians of their days regarded 
these books as of divine authority. It is on such 
evidence as this that we rely for the authority of 
those sacred writings, which tell us what are the 
doctrines, precepts, and rites, of religion. Now, we 
see from this that uninspired testimony to divine 
things has its use. It is neither wise, nor any 
proof of intelligence, to refuse a proper place to 
such testimony. We do not ask Josephus nor 
Eusebius how to interpret these books for us, nor 
does their erroneous opinion with regard to mat¬ 
ters of faith disparage their testimony as to the 
existence and authenticity of the sacred canon. 
Neither can we properly say, “The early Christian 
fathers had wrong notions, some of them, about 
infant baptism; therefore they cannot be allowed 
to testify whether infant baptism was practised.” 
However heretical they may have been, they 
could not alter the well-known facts of history, in 
the face of enemies and friends. 

Mr. M. Are you not accustomed to rely much, 
in your scriptural argument for infant baptism, 
on the baptisms of households by the apostles ? 

14 


158 


HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS. 


Dr. D. I am; and that reminds me of an inter¬ 
esting passage, which I will read to you from this 
book:* 

“ Have we eight instances of the administration 
of the Lord’s Supper? Not half the number. 
Have we eight cases of the change of the 
Christian Sabbath from the Jewish? Not, per¬ 
haps, one fourth of the number. Yet those ser¬ 
vices are vindicated by the practice of the apostles, 
as recorded in the New Testament. How, then, 
can we deny their practice on the subject of infant 
baptism, when it is established by a series of more 
numerous instances than can possibly be found in 
support of any doctrine, principle, or practice, 
derived from the practice of the apostles ? ” 

But you will ask him (said Dr. D.), how he 
proves that there were infants or young children 
in the households baptized by the apostles. 

This is his answer : 

11 Is there any other case besides that of baptism, 
where we would take families at hazard, and deny 
the existence of young children in them ? 

“ Take eight families in a street, or eight pews 


Taylor on Baptism. 


HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS. 


159 


containing families in a place of worship; they 
will afford more than one young child.” 

Mr. M. How does he make out eight cases of 
household baptism by the apostles ? 

Dr. D. Let us examine his list: 

1. Cornelius. 

2. Lydia. 

3. The jailer at Philippi. “ Thus the church at 
Philippi, just organized by the apostles, and con¬ 
sisting of but few members, offers two instances 
of household baptism.” 

4. Crispus. u Compare Acts 18:8, and 1 Cor. 
1: 14—16, by which it appears that this Crispus 
was baptized by Paul separately from his family, 
which was not baptized by Paul. Yet Crispus 
1 believed on the Lord with all his housed If his 
house believed, it was baptized. It . was, then, a 
baptized household. But if we believe that the 
family of Crispus was baptized because we find it 
registered as believing, then we must admit the 
same of all other families which we find marked as 
Christians, though they be not expressly marked 
as baptized.” He is not proving, here, you notice, 
that there were children in any of these house¬ 
holds ; he thinks he proves that elsewhere, by the 


160 


HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS. 


doctrine of chances. He is now showing the 
grounds for supposing that certain u households ” 
were baptized. He applies his argument respect¬ 
ing Crispus to 

5. Aristobulus’s household. 

6. Onesiphorus’s household. 

7. Narcissus’s household. 

8. Stephanas’s household. This household was 
baptized by Paul separately from its head, who 
was not baptized by Paul; this case being just the 
reverse of that of Crispus. 

“Eight Christian families, and therefore bap¬ 
tized.” Now comes the question of probability as 
to there being children in those households not 
capable of faith. 

Begin anywhere, in any congregation, on the 
Sabbath, and count eight pews, the proprietors and 
occupants of which are the heads of families; and 
the chance of there being no minor children in 
them is almost too small to be appreciated. Should 
we read, in a secular paper, that a foreign mission¬ 
ary had baptized eight households in a pagan vil¬ 
lage, the general belief would be that it was a mis¬ 
sionary of some Paedobaptist denomination, and 
that children were baptized in those families. 


AN ERROR CORRECTED. 


161 


1 must read to you (said Dr.« D.) # something 
on the other side of this argument. I found the 
following, not long since, in a deservedly pop¬ 
ular and useful Dictionary and Repository, written 
and signed £y a gentleman of excellent character 
and standing. He says: 

“ Infant baptism was probably introduced about 
the commencement of the third century, in con¬ 
nection with other corruptions, which even then 
began to prepare the way for Popery. A super¬ 
stitious idea, respecting the necessity of baptism 
to salvation, led to the baptism of sick persons, 
and, finally, to the baptism of infants. Sponsors, 
holy water, anointing with oil, the sign of the 
cross, and a multitude of similar ceremonies, 
equally unauthorized by the Scriptures, were soon 
introduced. The church lost her simplicity and 
purity, her ministers became ambitious, and the 
darkness gradually deepened to the long and dis¬ 
mal night of papal despotism.’ 7 

“ Probably introduced about the commence¬ 
ment of the third century, in connection with other 
corruptions. ” Recall what I read to you from Ori- 
gen, born A. D. 185; from Tertullian, who flour¬ 
ished within one hundred years after the apostles; 

14 * 


162 


CONCESSIONS. 


from Cyprian ahd the Council of Carthage; from 
Augustine and his antagonist, Pelagius, who ex¬ 
pressly said that he had never heard of any one, 
not even the most impious heretic, denying ^bap¬ 
tism to infants. 

In contrast with such a passage as the one just 
read to you, I am reminded of the host of writers, 
on our side of the question, who, almost all of them, 
make such candid and full concessions, that they 
furnish their brethren of the opposite side with 
many of their arguments against us. I remember 
reading a book of “ Pmdobaptist Concessions/’ con¬ 
taining a formidable array of points yielded by 
our writers, so that a common reader might ask, 
What have you left as the ground of your belief 
and practice ? But the thought which arose in 
my mind was, Notwithstanding all these conces¬ 
sions, they who make them are among the firm¬ 
est believers in baptism by sprinkling, and in 
infant baptism. That cause must be affluent in 
proofs, and deeply rooted in the scriptural convic¬ 
tions of men, which can afford to make such con¬ 
cessions to its antagonists. These refuse facts, 
which we afford to others for so large a part of 


EARLY POPISH TENDENCIES. 


163 


their foundation, show how broad and sufficient 
ours must be. 

The quotation which I read to you, speaks of 
Popish tendencies as having already begun. This 
is true ; and more may be addbd. In the second 
epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul tells us that the 
mystery of iniquity was already at work. # On the 
subject of religious days and festivals, the first 
Christians very soon began to be superstitious, in¬ 
corporating heathen festival days into Christian 
observances, under the plea of redeeming and 
sanctifying them, with some such feelings and 
reasoning as that with which people, now, would 
transfer secular music to sanctuaries, saying 
that the enemy ought not to have all the best 
music. It is true that this sensuous, and, after¬ 
ward called, Romish, tendency, corrupted every¬ 
thing. The pure stream of apostolic doctrine and 
practice was like the Moselle, which you saw from 
the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, pursuing its unmin¬ 
gled course distinctly for some distance in the tur¬ 
bid Rhine, till at last it yields to the general cur¬ 
rent. Infant baptism, as we learn from ecclesias¬ 
tical authorities with one consent, proceeded from 
the apostles; yet soon it began to be practised 


164 


CHANGE OF MODES. 


with many superstitious absurdities; and, more¬ 
over, immersion, making such powerful appeals to 
the senses, suited the taste of the age far better 
than sprinkling, so that not only did it become the 
common mode, but the subjects were completely 
undressed, without' any distinction, to denote the 
putting^oflf the old man and the putting on of the 
new, and the putting away of the filth of the 
flesh.* Public sentiment finally abolished this prac¬ 
tice. After a considerable time affusion, or sprin¬ 
kling, returned, and became the prevailing mode, 
without any special enactment, or any formal re¬ 
nunciation of the late mode. The Eastern church, 
however, retained immersion, while the Greek and 
Armenian branches use both immersion and sprin¬ 
kling for the adult and child. But the. sick and 
dying were always baptized by sprinkling, which 
is sufficient to prove that sprinkling was regarded 
as equally valid with immersion. It is natural to 
say that it was. superstitious to baptize the sick and 
dying, by sprinkling, if we hold that only immer¬ 
sion is valid baptism. The sick and dying cannot 

* See “ Coleman’s Ancient Christianity,” chap, xix., sec. 12. He 
refers to Ambrose, Ser. 20. Chrysostom, Horn. 6. Epistle to Col., 
&o., &c. 


NO INFLEXIBLE MODE. 


165 


be immersed; now, is it superstition for a sick 
person, giving credible evidence of piety, to be 
admitted into the Christian church, and receive 
the Lord’s Supper ? In order to do this properly, 
the subject must be baptized; hence, we derive 
one powerful argument that sprinkling is valid 
baptism. Our Lord would never have made the 
modes of his sacraments so austerely rigid, that 
the thousands of sick and feeble persons, ministers 
in poor health, climate, seasons of the year, times 
of persecution and imprisonment, and all the 
stress of circumstances to which Christians may 
be subjected, should be utterly disregarded, and 
one inconvenient, and sometimes dangerous, form, 
of applying water, be insisted on, inflexibly, as 
essential to the introductory Christian rite. If 
the early Christians baptized the sick by sprin¬ 
kling, they of course supposed that it was valid 
baptism. If it was valid at all, and in any case, of 
course it was Christian baptism, even if other 
modes were most commonly used. 

Mr. M. I suppose, then, that you would not 
object to administer baptism in any other mode of 
applying water than sprinkling, or pouring. 

Dr . D. One mode was, I believe, practised at 


166 


THOMAS SHEPaRD. 


first; and the New Testament teaches me that 
this was affusion. The application of water in any 
way, by an authorized administrator, to a proper 
subject, in the name of the Trinity, may be valid 
baptism; but I prefer the New Testament mode, 
as I understand it, and am happy to allow others 
the same liberty of judgment which I enjoy. It 
would be an extreme case which would lead me to 
administer the ordinance in any other way than by 
affusion. 

But, said Mr. D., you began by inquiring re¬ 
specting the practice of infant baptism in the 
early ages. I presume that your- mind is settled 
with regard to the connection of the practice with 
God’s everlasting covenant with believers and 
their offspring. I lately read a statement of this 
point, which pleased me much, in the writings of 
the famous Rev. Thomas Shepard, the early pastor 
of the church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He 
says : 

“ There is the same inward cause moving God 
to take in the children of believing parents into 
the church and covenant, now, to be of the number 
of his people, as there was for taking the Jews 
and their children. For the only reason why the 


HIS ILLUSTRATION. 


167 


Lord took in the children of the Jews with them¬ 
selves evidently was his love to the parents. 1 Be¬ 
cause he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their 
seed.’ So that I do from hence believe, that either 
God’s love is, in these days of his Gospel, less unto 
his people and servants than in the days of the 
Old Testament,— or, if it be as great, that then the 
same love respects the seed of his people now as 
then it did. And, therefore, if then because he 
loved them he chose their seed to be of his 
church, so in these days because he loveth us 
he chooseth our seed to be of his church also.” 

Though the title of the treatise from which I 
read is called the Church-Membership of Children, 
to jvhich expression I have very^reat objections, 
and feel that it has done harm, yet this good man 
held the doctrine of infant church-membership in 
a sense which is free from all reproach of making 
people members of the church otherwise than by 
regeneration. His belief on this point comes out 
under the following illustration : 

u These children may not be the sons of God 
and his people really and savingly, but God will . 
honor them outwardly with his name and privi- 
leges, just as one that adopts a youngster tells the 


168 


APPEAL TO A CHILD. 


father that if the child carry himself well toward 
him, when he is grown up to years he shall pos¬ 
sess the inheritance itself; but yet in the mean¬ 
while he shall have this favor, to be called his son, 
and be of the family and household, and so be reck¬ 
oned among the number of his sons.” 

One of the chief reasons which brought this 
excellent man to New England, was that he could 
not in Old England enjoy the ordinance of infant 
baptism in its purity. Let me read the following, 
addressed by him to his little son, who afterward 
became pastor of the church in Lynn, Massachu¬ 
setts, and was a burning and shining light. His 
words will show you that he had no superstitious 
notion about tbjp church-membership of children, 
though he represented the common belief at that 
day, and that he did not count baptism in infancy 
a saving ordinance ; yet you will see how he uses 
it to plead with his son to be reconciled to God. 
He writes: 

“ And thus, after about eleven weekes sayle from 
Old England, we came to New England shore, 
where the mother fell sick of consumption, and 
you my child was put to nurse to one goodwife 
Hopkins, who was very tender of thee ; and after 


APPEAL TO A CHILD. 


169 


we had been here diverse weekes, on the seventh 
of February, or thereabout, God gave thee the or¬ 
dinance of baptism, whereby God is become thy 
God, and is beforehand with thee, that whenever 
you shall return to God he will undoubtedly re¬ 
ceive thee; and this is a most high and happy» 
privilege; and therefore blesse God for it. And 
now, after this had been done, thy deare mother 
dyed in the Lord, departing out of this world into 
another, who did lose her life by being careful to 
preserve thine ; for in the ship thou wert so feeble 
and froward, both in the day and night, that hereby 
shee lost her strength, and at last her life. Shee 
hath made also many a prayer and shed many a 
tear in secret for thee ; and this. hath bin oft her 
request, that if the Lord did not intend to glorify 
himselfe by thee, that he would cut thee off by 
death rather than to live to dishonor him by sin; 
and therefore know it that if you shalt turn rebell 
agaynst God, and forsake God and care not for the 
knowledge of him, nor to beleeve in his Son, the 
Lord will make all these mercys woes, and all thy 
mother’s prayers, teares, and death, to be a swift 
witness agaynst thee at the great day.” 

The practice of infant baptism, and a belief in 

15 


170 


THE COVENANT PEOPLE. 


what is called the church-membership of children 
surely had no injurious effect upon a parent who 
could speak thus to his child. Yet Shepard took 
as high ground as any with regard to this subject. 
Eie derived appeals from baptism to his child, which 
.were both encouraging and admonitory in the 
highest degree. 

0, said Dr. D., what a people the descend¬ 
ants of Abraham might have been forever, had 
they kept that covenant of which circumcision 
was the seal. Had they remembered only this, 
and had they adhered to it, “I will be a God to 
thee and to thy seed after thee,” and had they 
been a covenant-keeping people, their peace, as 
God says to them, would have been as a river; an 
endless, inexhaustible tide of prosperity and bless¬ 
edness. 

And now, if Christian parents will but lay hold 
on that covenant as they may, that Abrahamic 
covenant, still in force for them who are Christ’s, 
and so Abraham’s, seed, and heirs according to the 
promise, we should soon see, in family religion, in 
the early conversion of children, and in their large 
Christian culture, those promises of God fulfilled 
which have respect to the great increase, chiefly 


BAPTISM AN ACT OF GOD. 


171 


by this means, of his church in the latter days. 
This is one thing which makes me love and prize 
infant baptism so much; its being an expression 
and exponent of parental love, faithfulness, and 
zeal, in those with whom it is preceded and fol¬ 
lowed by the entire consecration of their children 
to God, their feelings and conduct toward them 
agreeing with the covenant made for them with 
God. 

But, in saying this, let me guard you against 
the erroneous notion that infant baptism is pri¬ 
marily a parent’s covenant, an expression of his 
feelings toward God. No, it is God’s covenant, 
an expression of his feelings toward the children 
of believers. That is the chief thing which gives 
it value. For, it is not because parents love their 
children, that God commands that they be offered 
in baptism ; but because God loves them, and has 
promised to be a God to them, as he is to their 
parents. People, however, sometimes treat the 
ordinance as though it were their act toward God, 
and not primarily his act toward them. They, 
therefore, are liable to use it with far less effect 
than if they were receiving in it, and by it, God’s 
own transaction with them and the little child. 


172 


FAMILY INFLUENCE. 


Mr. M. In thinking of Pagan and Mohammedan 
nations, lately, at the Concert of Prayer for For¬ 
eign Missions, I was struck with this thought, how 
error has been transmitted from father to child, 
and what an awful power for evil lies in transmit¬ 
ted family influence, when it is corrupted. This 
led me to think whether God did not have this in 
mind when, in establishing his church in Abraham, 
he connected children with parents in his cove¬ 
nant, and gave a sign and seal to be affixed to their 
children as a constant admonition to parental faith¬ 
fulness. All his former dealings with the world 
seem to have failed, because of its great wicked¬ 
ness,— fire, plagues, good examples, great riches, 
and power conferred upon the good; and then he 
• added, as a special means, the family constitution, 
and by it he secured a seed to serve him to an 
extent sufficient to keep the world from extinction, 
and to be the repository and source of divine 
knowledge. I began to think that, if .we would 
keep religion from dying out, we must fall in with 
God’s great plan; for Satan makes use of it, and 
holds generation after generation in bondage by 
means of the family constitution. So I set myself 
at work to find out ways by which we might pro- 


OUR CHURCH ARTICLES. 


173 


mote family religion: and I could find no better 
plan than the old one, of promoting scriptural and 
spiritual views of the dedication of children. Then 
I thought how much discredit has been cast upon 
that ordinance, which is intended to be the great 
sign and declaration of parental piety and faithful¬ 
ness ; and that family religion had, proportionably, 
declined, with the indifference of Christians to this 
powerful means of promoting the eminent zeal and 
efforts of parents in behalf of their children’s spir¬ 
itual good. # Youths of fifteen to twenty-one years 
of age are, in a large proportion, the causes of pre¬ 
vailing wickedness, — Sabbath-breaking, profane¬ 
ness, and other things. They need just what the 
ordinance of baptism, properly observed and fully 
carried out by covenanting parents, would do for 
them. But, in being present at the formation of 
new churches, I have mourned to see that, instead 
of declaring infant baptism to be the duty of be¬ 
lievers, as was formerly done in our older churches, 
a compromise with modern lax views is made, by 
merely permitting infant baptism, saying, in the 
confession of faith, that, “ Baptism is the privilege 
only of believers and their children.” 

But the idea of getting up a zeal in favor of in- 
15 * 


174 


ON PROMOTING INFANT BAPTISM. 


fant baptism, or a public sentiment in the churches 
which should enforce it as a duty, seemed to me 
unprofitable ; but it occurred to me, whether some¬ 
thing could not be done to interest Christian 
parents in the subject, by showing them the infi¬ 
nite privilege of having God for their God, and 
the God of their seed, and then the naturalness 
and propriety of using an ordinance to express 
and to assist it. People need instruction on the 
subject; instruction which will (^mmend itself to 
their Christian feelings. We cannot legislate them 
into a spiritual observance of the Lord’s Supper, 
much less of baptism. 

Dr. D. No ; and I trust that our denominations 
who practise infant baptism, will never urge it 
otherwise than in connection with parental piety, 
and as a helper of parental obligations. 

Mr. M. But ought we not to stir ourselves up 
with regard to parental duties ? and, if so, must we 
not necessarily insist on the dedication of children 
to God, and upon baptism as the acceptable way 
of signifying it, and the powerful means of helping 
us to perform our duties ? 

Dr. D.. Surely we ought; and in doing it we 
have the satisfaction to know that we are laboring 


MALACHI AND JOHN BAPTIST. 


175 


for something more than to establish a mode of 
applying an ordinance. In urging the baptism of 
children, if we do it not for the sake of the ordi¬ 
nance, but for the things which it signifies and 
promotes, we advance the cause of piety in the 
parents. 

Mr. M. Would that some one would blow a 
trumpet in the churches on this subject. I do feel 
that if parents would appreciate the influence of 
such a state of heart as would lead them to offer 
their children to God in baptism, as an expression 
of their previous and subsequent views and feel¬ 
ings toward their children, we should see a new 
state of things in the rising generation. How 
striking it is that the Old Testament closes with 
such a passage as that last verse of Malachi. It is 
the promontory of the Old Testament, looking 
across the coming ages, yearning toward the new 
dispensation, and, as it were, making signals, con¬ 
cerning the forerunner of that new era, with those 
words : “ And he shall turn the heart of the fathers 
to the children, and the heart of the children to 
their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth v ith 
a curse.” May we not conclude that this is G d’s 


176 


ALTERCATIONS OF SECTS; 


most acceptable way of effecting the revival of 
religion from one period to another ? 

Dr. D. I have no doubt of it. 

Mr. M. I spoke to our good Deacon Goodenow 
about it, lately; but he said he had a great horror 
of a controversy about baptism, and he was afraid 
that, to say much upon this subject, would involve 
us in one. I told him that I would not be for re¬ 
flecting upon other denominations ; that my motto, 
with regard to them and us, is, “ Live, and let 
live.’ 7 I would only appeal to our own people, 
and encourage them to take up the subject afresh, 
in a spiritual manner; that is, to dwell upon the 
privilege and duty of being in covenant relations, 
with our children, to God, baptism being the ordi¬ 
nance of ratification, and its memorial. 

Dr. D. Your reference to controversy about 
baptism makes me think of one which I listened to¬ 
rn a rail-road station, last winter, while waiting in 
a snow-storm, several hours, for the cars. Two 
students of divinity, as I took them to be, were 
discussing their respective tenets with regard to 
baptism. I was reading a book, but could not help 
hearing what they said. One was decrying infant 
baptism as a u rag of Popery, 77 “ the last relic of 


ALTERCATIONS OF SECTS. 


177 


Rome in Protestantism/’ 11 a device of Satan to fill 
up the church with unconverted members/’ and 
much more to that effect. 

His friend, in reply, undertook to give his im¬ 
pressions of immersion. He spoke of India-rubber 
bathing-dresses; — a tank in which he saw two or 
three men and as many women, one of them a 
young lady, immersed, to his apparent disgust;—of 
Elder some one breaking the ice at some cape on 
New Year’s Sabbath, and immersing several car¬ 
riages full of females, who went back dripping wet, 
to the carriages, and rode an eighth of a mile to 
the vestry; — of several females immersed, in a 
southern State, going into a creek with white gar¬ 
ments, and with white fillets about their heads, and 
coming out yellow; and he asked his fellow 
whether infant baptism could be any worse than 
such things. 

Mr. M. What did his friend say ? 

Dr. D. 0, it was the common talk on both 
sides, painful and revolting. I could not help 
saying to them, as the cars were coming up, and 
we were parting, u But, if ye bite and devour one 
another, take heed that ye be not consumed one 
of another.” 


178 


TREATMENT OF DIFFICULTIES. 


Mr. M. They probably left each other as little 
convinced of the opposite opinions, respectively, 
as when they began. 

Dr. D. More confirmed and set against each 
other’s views, I have no question. There has 
been far too much of this. Ridicule and sarcasm 
are Satan’s favorite weapons. Good people ought 
not to use them against each other, whatever be 
the temptation. Perhaps, as human nature chooses 
variety, and we are differently affected by different 
presentations of truth, men must be divided into 
sects; but intolerance, bigotry, exclusiveness, in us 
or in others, cannot stand before the spirit of the 
age. We may work better, divided into denomi¬ 
nations, forbearing with one another, and loving 
one another in Christ, and for his sake. 

Mr. M. Are you often called upon by persons 
who are troubled on the subject of baptism ? 

Dr. D. I do not spend much time in discussing 
the mode. When a young person is troubled on 
the subject, I am always careful, first of all, to find 
out whether there is any secret bias, for any rea¬ 
son, toward another denomination; in which case, 
I pause at once; for you might argue forever in 
vain There is iron on board the ship, which con- 


TREATMENT OF DIFFICULTIES. 


179 


trols the needle in the compass. I always make it 
easy and pleasant for such to follow their evident 
inclination and wishes. 

Mr. M. Are they generally ready to go ? 

Dr. D. No, they say they do not like strict 
communion; but I cannot help them. I will not 
be a sectarian, even for infant baptism. 

Mr. M. Are you in favor of admitting people 
to our church who do not believe in infant bap¬ 
tism ? 

Dr. D. Young people, who say that their minds 
are not made up on the subject, or those who 
have not had their attention directed to it, cannot 
be required to signify their cordial assent to it; 
but it is enough if they are not opposed. In the 
case of parents who steadfastly decline to practise 
infant baptism, after waiting a proper time to 
instruct them, I advise them to join another de¬ 
nomination more in accordance with their views. 
We do better to be apart, and it is no reflection 
upon either side to say this. A Pmdobaptist 
church ought to maintain its principles by requir¬ 
ing assent to its standard of faith ; yet, where there 
is no church of a different denomination, within 
convenient distance, I surely would not exclude a 


180 


RE-BAPTIZING. 


child of God from the Lord’s Supper for differ¬ 
ences of opinion and practice about baptism. I 
would admit, by special vote, to occasional, or 
even to stated communion, in such a case. 

Mr. M. Do you ever re-baptize ? 

Dr. D. Where a person was baptized with 
water, in the name of the Trinity, by an authorized 
person, of any denomination, I would not re-bap¬ 
tize. The alleged heterodox or immoral charac¬ 
ter of the administrator, at the time of baptism, 
does not invalidate it; otherwise, one might be 
baptized many times, and, the administrators prov¬ 
ing unworthy, the subject could never get bap¬ 
tized. Christ would never let his ordinances 
depend thus upon uncertainties. Let a person 
but recognize his baptism, if performed in infancy, 
by entering publicly into covenant with God, and 
that will be sufficient. I endeavor to show people 
how wrong it is to lay undue stress on the 
ordinance, forgetting whether they have that 
which is signified by it, and which alone gives it 
value. 

/ 

Mr. M. True, sir, but it has its importance, and 
stress is to be laid upon the due observance of it. 

Dr. D. I mean that where I find the conditions 


PAUL AND BAPTISM. 


181 


of valid baptism complied with, I try to turn away 
the thoughts from any superstitious or ceremonial 
dependence upon the sacramental act. You re¬ 
member the answer in the catechism to the ques¬ 
tion, “How do the sacraments become effectual 
means of salvation ? ” 

Mr. M. How I used to say that, at my mother’s 
knee, with my hands folded 'behind me, to keep 
them still: “The sacraments become effectual 
means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, 
or in him that doth administer them, but only by 
the blessing of Christ, and the working of his 
spirit in them that by faith receive them.” 

Dr. D. I was thinking, the other day, and not 
for the first time, by any means, what a noble man 
was Paul. He was unwilling that people should 
call themselves after him, as their leader, and there¬ 
fore he was glad to leave the act of baptizing to 
his associates. Some, however, infer from this 
that he disparages baptism. “ Christ sent me not 
to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” Baptism, 
in its place, has its importance, and so has preach¬ 
ing ; but whether he should be the baptizer, or 
delegate the administration to Silas, or Mark, was 
not of so much consequence as that he should 
16 


182 


CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY. 


preach. How he put things in their right places, 
according to their proportions, exalting the great, 
vital things, sinking others to their subordinate, 
though useful, spheres, and becoming all things to 
all men to save them. With his contempt of form¬ 
alism, I hardly know of a greater trial of pa¬ 
tience than he must have had in consenting to cir¬ 
cumcise Timothy. ’He there shut the window- 
shutters, and lighted an exhausted lamp, for a time, 
though he knew the sun was up, to gratify some 
who had not opened their eyes to the morning. 
How far from a contentious, ambitious spirit, was 
he, even with his intense convictions. There are 
many good people, in all communions, who are 
longing for the time when all the old walls of sep¬ 
aration between true Christians will have as many 
gates in them, at least, as heaven has, — on the 
east three gates, on the north three gates, on the 
south three gates, and on the west three gates. 
But I rejoice even in our liberty, if we choose to 
exercise it, of separation, without molestation, 
though we lose much good to ourselves, and much 
influence, and, in times of general religious interest, 
it leads to early discussions about modes and 
forms. How many times have I seen a growing 


THE CHURCH IS ONE. 


183 


attention to religion in a community checked by 
debates and discussions as to ordinances. 

Mr. M. If more pains were taken to instruct 
our own people as to the oneness of the ancient 
and the Christian church, and to show them how 
the consecration of children is a part of religion, 
as reestablished by the Most High, it seems to me 
great good would follow. . 

Dr. D. If you will draw out your thoughts on 
the subject, and let me see them, we may prepare 
something which may be useful. You view the 
subject on the popular, practical side. Let us see 
what the results are to which you have come. 

Having agreed to make the effort at my leisure, 
I may report hereafter as to my success. And 
now I will ask my reader’s attention to an inter¬ 
esting letter, which, on my return home, I found 
awaiting me. 


C|»8gttr 

Terms of Communion. 

Him first to love, great right and reason is, 

Who first to us our life and being gave ; 

And after, when we fared had amisse, 

Us wretches from the second death did save 5 
And last, the food of life, which now we have, 

Even He himselfe, in his dear sacrament, 

To feede our hungry soules, unto us lent. 

Then next to love our brethren, that were made 
Of that selfe mould, and that self maker’s hand, 

That we 5 * and to the same againe shall fade 
0 Where they shall have like heritage of land,! 

However here on higher steps we stand ; 

Which also were with selfe-same price redeemed 
That we ;—however of us light esteemed. 

Spenser. — 11 An Hymne of Heavenly LoveV 

- Prairie, -, 185—. 

My dear Brother: Here we are, at our jour¬ 
ney’s end. We have had a most romantic journey, 
arriving in health, though wayworn, much of our 
ride having been in wagons. My wife says, Give 


* As we. 


t The grave. 




TERMS OF COMMUNION. 


185 


my love to brother, and tell him of the scene at 
“the hill Mizar.” Your letter, which we found 
awaiting us, made her think that you would be 
deeply interested in the story. This, by and by. 

As we were leaving C., one morning, in the great 
mail-wagon, a man and his wife, with an infant in 
her arms, took seats with us, bound far beyond 
our own home. The parents had been delayed by 
the birth of the child during the journey from 
New York. They proved to be truly excellent 
people, and they made our journey with them very 
agreeable. 

The father, Mr. Blair, had been greatly tried 
during his stay at the hotel where his wife was 
sick. There was only one church in the village. 
The administration of the Lord’s Supper occurring 
while he was there, he went to avail himself of a 
stranger’s privilege at the table of Christ. He 
found, however, that the ordinance was not to be 
administered till the afternoon, and, moreover, the 
hymn-book, and some things in the sermon, dis¬ 
closed to him that the church was one which 
closed its doors against communicants who had 
not been baptized by immersion, on profession of 
their faith. 


16 * 


186 


TERMS OF COMMUNION. 


He was strongly inclined to partake of the ordi¬ 
nance, without saying anything respecting his bap¬ 
tism. But, on the whole, he concluded that it 
would be respectful to intimate his situation to 
one of the church, peradventure they had a rule 
favorable to such a case as his, or, at least, had 
agreed to shut their eyes, and ask no questions, in 
such circumstances. 

He, therefore, introduced himself to a venerable 
man, who, he inferred, was a deacon. He frankly 
told him who he was, and that he wished to par¬ 
take of the Lord’s Supper. 

The good man said to him, “I am sorry that 
you said anything about it; but, so long as you 
have, I don’t see how I can consistently encourage 
your partaking of the ordinance.” 

Stranger. On what ground, sir ? 

Deacon. Why, we do not hold you to have been 
baptized. 

Stranger. T was baptized in infancy, by believ¬ 
ing parents, and have been a professing Christian 
fifteen years. 

Deacon. That is not believers’ baptism, as we 
view it. The Lord’s Supper, in our cjommunion. 


TERMS OF COMMUNION. 


187 


is for baptized persons only. We bold to no bap¬ 
tism but by immersion. 

Stranger. I certainly would not intrude, and I 
will not ask you to act inconsistently with your 
principles. But I am a wayfaring man. I have 
not had the opportunity to partake of the Lord’s 
Supper for several months. The life and health 
of my wife have been remarkably preserved in 
this village. Here is the birthplace of my first¬ 
born, a place never to be forgotten by us. I wish 
to make a Bethel of it. I wish to come to my 
Saviour’s table with my thanksgivings, and pay 
him my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my 
mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I re¬ 
joiced when I heard that this was your sacra¬ 
mental Sabbath. 

Deacon. Your church would not admit an un¬ 
baptized person to the Lord’s table, however much 
he might plead for admission. 

Stranger. 0, my dear sir, how unfair that reas¬ 
oning is. This is placing me on a level with one 
who rejects baptism. I profess to have been bap¬ 
tized to the best of my knowledge, and to have 
fulfilled the requirements of Christ. Should a 
man come to our church, and say, I have reason 


188 


TERMS OF COMMUNION. 


to believe that I have been baptized, though I 
cannot bring evidence to satisfy you, except so 
far as you have confidence in me, his case would 
be parallel with mine. Such a man we would not 
exclude. 

Deacon. Perhaps we shall not agree, if we con¬ 
tinue to discuss the point. I am sorry that our 
rules operate to your inconvenience. We wish to 
see everybody on New Testament ground, and we 
think that the surest way to bring them there is 
to stand there ourselves. By departing from the 
literal command to immerse, and by baptizing in¬ 
fants, the church of Christ became corrupted with 
traditions and human inventions. We are at the 
antipodes to all this; we refuse everything which 
is not in black and white on the surface of the 
Bible, and so we are the more consistent Prot¬ 
estants. 

“ Considering the day and the occasion,” said 
my friend to us, 11 1 forbore to argue, or to press 
the good man by asking him if the 1 seventh-day 
Sabbath ’ people had not the advantage of him as 
to greater consistency in their Protestantism; or, 
whether the church-membership of females was 
anywhere in black and white on the surface of the 


TERMS OP COMMUNION. 


189 


Bible. As to his going to the antipodes, to get 
clear of Romish principles and practices, I was 
strongly tempted to say that, to avoid being one 
of the acids, it surely was not necessary, nor best, 
to become an alkali. But having often reflected 
how God uses one and another sect, and its set of 
principles and practices, to correct evils, by their 
sharp antagonism, and to restore a balance to 
ecclesiastical disorders by allowing some to go, for 
a while, to an opposite extreme, I did not find it 
in my heart to inveigh, nor to upbraid. It also 
seemed good to be in a land of liberty, where even 
Christians could, from a sense of duty to Christ, if 
they chose, fence out their acknowledged brethren 
and sisters from their table. There are great in¬ 
conveniences, and, now and then, hardships, result¬ 
ing from it; but our friends, of course, suppose 
that greater good, on the whole, than evil, is the 
consequence, apart from considerations of duty. 
But I know of a congregation, in a small place, 
who have had public worship for several years, 
but have not had the Lord’s Supper administered, 
because they cannot agree as to terms of com¬ 
munion.” 


190 


TERMS OF COMMUNION. 


“Well/’ said I, “tell us wliat you did in the 
afternoon.” 

“In the afternoon,” he continued, “I went to 
meeting, and, when the ordinance was to be admin¬ 
istered, I took a seat in a pew alone. I watched 
to see which aisle the good deacon would serve, 
and concluded to sit there, so as not to seem clan¬ 
destinely seeking from another deacon, who would 
not know me, my inhibited bread ; for I wished to 
be honorable in the transaction, and, besides, I 
desired that my friend should see me, and, if he 
had changed his mind, give me the symbols. So I 
sat where he would pass, in a pew by myself, but 
he did not look at me.” . 

“ How did it make you feel ? ” said I. 

“ In some respects,” said he, “ I never enjoyed 
my thoughts more at the administration of the 
Supper. I had no feeling of resentment or ill- 
will. The exclusion of four fifths of the Christian 
family from the Lord’s table by one portion of it, 
for such a reason, seemed to leave me in such 
good company, that I said to myself, 1 They that 
be with us are more than they that be with them.’ 
I rejoiced in Robert Hall, John Bunyan, and others 
like them. I thought of that interesting piece in 


TERMS OF COMMUNION. 


191 


Bunyan’s works, 1 Water Baptism no Bar to Com¬ 
munion.’ I questioned whether this church and 
its sister churches would not hear a mild reproof 
from the lips of Christ,— 1 1 was a stranger, and ye 
took me not in.’ Certainly they could not say 
with Job, ‘If I have eaten my morsel alone.’ Us¬ 
ing the table of Christ for a wall or bars against 
acknowledged Christians,—that table, that Supper, 
which, of all places and scenes, is most suggestive 
of communion and fellowship, — seemed to me so 
great a mistake, that I could not in charity regard 
it as a sin, because, as such, it would be so crimi¬ 
nal. I always believed, before, that the mode of 
baptism was not essential to Christian fellowship ; 
but that afternoon I saw it, I felt it; I worked 
out the sum myself, and saw the demonstration. 
I felt very happy in belonging to the great host 
of God’s people who can commune together, how¬ 
ever much they differ. 

“ While I was sitting there alone, put aside, one 
might say, by my brothers and sisters, whom I had, 
as it were, run in so cordially to meet, one thought 
came over me, as they were feasting with Christ, 
which made me weep. I thought of the possibil- 


192 


TERMS OF COMMUNION. 


ity of being set aside in the great day. I said, 
to myself: 

* I love to meet thy people now. 

Before thy face with them to bow, 

Though vilest of them all; 

But, can I bear the dreadful thought. 

What if my name should be left out 
When thou for them dost call ? ’ 

“This did me good. Yet, while I was sitting 
there, I seemed to see the Saviour approach me, 
with a smile. His look seemed very significant, 
as though he would say, 1 1 understand it.’ Those 
words came to my mind: ‘ Jesus heard that they 
had cast him out; and, when he had found him, he 
said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of 
God ? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, 
that I might believe on him ? And Jesus said 
unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he 
that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I be¬ 
lieve. And he worshipped him/ I surely said and 
did this. 

“Never before/’ said he, “had I such views of 
the condescension and gentleness of Christ toward 
us, erring creatures. Here was a church erring, 
as it seemed to me, in a point which must pecu- 


HON-INTRtTSION. 


193 


liarly wound the heart of the Redeemer, whose 
last discourse with his disciples had this for its 
burden, that ye love one another. And yet there 
were, in that church, many with whom Christ was 
communing with a love that seemed to them un¬ 
qualified. So he treats us all. I never had a 
greater flow of charity toward all my fellow-Chris- 
tians than on that occasion. I resolved that I never 
would be a sectarian in anything, while I also felt 
more strongly than ever attached to my own 
views, and confident of their truthfulness, and in 
love with their beauty.” 

When he had finished his narration, his wife 
asked me what I thought with regard to her hus¬ 
band’s proceedings. I asked her to state particu¬ 
larly what she had in mind. She then expressed 
a doubt whether it were proper for us to intrude 
upon fellow-Christians, when we know that their 
principles forbid their communing with us. She 
said that she remonstrated with her husband, as 
soon as he told her that the ordinance was not 
free to all evangelical Christians, and that she 
tried to dissuade him from appearing to obtrude 
himself. She did not view it as uncharitableness, 
but only as a denominational rule. 

IT 


194 


LOVING-KINDNESS. 


I asked her what her husband said in self 
defence ; — for we loved to hear her conversation. 

She said that he turned it off by saying, “ Men 
do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul 
when he is hungry.” 

She said that soon they experienced the utmost 
kindness from the members of that church, who, 
learning the occasion of their sojourn in the vil¬ 
lage, poured upon them their hospitality. Several 
wished to remove her to their dwellings. They 
had a u Busy Bee,” and made up everything in an 
infant’s wardrobe for her. She opened her trav¬ 
elling-bag, and took out a white enamelled paper 
semi-circular box, containing a pin-cushion, made 
of straw-colored satin, in the shape of a young 
moon, with these words tastefully printed in pins : 
“ Welcome, little stranger ! ” She held it up to us 
in one hand, while with the other she wiped her 
eyes. Never, she said, had kindness affected her 
so much; — she believed that it hindered her in 
gaining strength, her feelings were so continually 
wrought upon by ingenious devices of loving¬ 
kindness. It became known that the husband had 
proposed to commune, and what the issue had 
been. This only served to make them all the 


A CHRISTIAN LADY. 


195 


more generous. They felt it deeply, and bore it 
as a necessity which they evidently regretted; but, 
with much self-respect, they refrained to make any 
apology, or explanation; 11 and, for this,” said the 
wife, u I respected them.” There was one elderly 
maiden-lady, however, who once was so far excited 
when the subject was alluded to, while several of 
them were sewing in the wife’s room, that, after 
moving about in her chair, evidently struggling 
with her emotions, she ventured at last to say, 
“ 0, if I could get hold of that old fence, how I 
should love to shake it! ” They all smiled; and 
one sensible and well-educated woman immediately 
gave a pleasant turn to the conversation. 

I fully agreed with the wife in her very digni¬ 
fied and proper view of the whole subject. Is 
there not something extremely charming in the 
highly lady-like sentiments and expressions of a 
Christian woman, as contradistinguished from 
those of a gentleman ? He, with all his urbanity, 
is apt to show the smallest possible vein of testi¬ 
ness, or, at least, the clouded look of high-bred 
sense of honor. It seems to me there is no power 
which woman exerts over us, in softening and 
humanizing our feelings, more beautiful and effect 


196 


CHRISTIAN FORGETFULNESS. 


ual, than in her delicate forbearance and charity 
in taking the kind view of an irritating subject 
without compromise of principle, but just the 
view which reflection, and gentler moods, and the 
softening hand of time, invariably present. She 
arrives at it at once, by intuition; our slow 4 and 
phlegmatic sense goes through a process of mis¬ 
take and rectification, to reach it. 

It occurred to me to test this good lady’s feel¬ 
ings a little further, by reading to her an item from 
a newspaper, which I had met with in the cars a 
few days before, and which I had transferred to 
my pocket. It had disturbed my equanimity a 
little. It was an extract from the annual circu¬ 
lar letter of a conference of ministers to their 
churches, in one of the New England States, in 
1855, in which mention was made of “the mon¬ 
strous and soul-damning heresy of infant bap¬ 
tism.” 

I asked the lady how we ought to feel at such a 
demonstration. She said, “ I presume I know how 
you gentlemen would be likely to feel and act 
under the impulse of the moment; but the true 
way to regard and treat it, as it seems to me, is, 
with pertinacious forgetfulness.” She would not 


THE CASCADE. 


197 


let it disturb her feelings; and she quoted George 
Herbert: 


** Why should I feel another man’s mistakes 
More than his sicknesses, or poverty ? 

In love I should ; but,” &c. 

Susan said that she was reminded of visits made 
to her mother’s house, by some who would per¬ 
suade her mother that she belonged to an “ unbap¬ 
tized church;” thus seeking to put in fear the 
children who were about to make a profession 
of religion. Her mother replied to these visitors, 
that there was far more apprehension in her own 
mind whether they themselves were properly bap¬ 
tized, if but one mode is valid. — As to Mr. Blair’s 
effort to commune at that table, she said that she 
would never seek nor receive as a boon from men, 
that which her Saviour had purchased for her, and 
for them, with his own blood. 

Our conversation was here interrupted by the 
exclamation of my wife, “Do look at that beautiful 
sight, that cascade, on the hill.” 

17 * 




The Road-side Baptism. 

How beautiful the water is l 
To me’t is wondrous fair; 

No spot can ever lonely be, 

If water sparkle there. 

It hath a thousand tongues of mirth, 

Of grandeur, or delight, 

And every heart is gladder made 
When water greets the sight. 

Mrs. E. 0. Smith. 

Sweet one ! make haste, and know Him too; 

Thine own adopting Father love ; 

That, like thine earliest dew, 

Thy dying sweets may prove. 

Keble. 


We were about to turn a corner in a defile of 
the mountains, and a large perpendicular buttress 
of the ridge stood out, so as nearly to close up the 
road. It presented a surface of about twenty feet 
directly in front, as we drove up, and, from the 
top, which was nearly a hundred and twenty feet 
from the ground, a cascade fell into the air for 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


199 


about forty feet, and, without touching anything, 
became dishevelled, and disappeared in mist. 

It was one of the most beautiful objects which I 
ever saw. It was pure white, relieved against the 
wet and very black rock. It waved to and fro in 
the air like a streamer; it had a slow pulse, lifting 
it and letting it drop, like the appearance of a 
waterfall seen from the window of a car in motion, 
only this was irregular and quite slow; it was soft 
and fleecy; it made no audible noise ; it looked 
dangerous to see it fall from so great a height; 
but it was caught in the air, to your relief, as one 
who falls in his dream lights upon his soft bed. 
The lines of Gray, in his Bard, were suggested by 
the sight of this mountain, though not by any 
close resemblance: 

** Loose his beard ; his hoary hair 

Streamed like a meteor to the troubled air.’* 

The ladies had other images suggested by it. 
One said, “ It is a beautiful hand, waving God¬ 
speed to us on our journey.” That brought tears 
into the eyes of some of us, reminding us so of 
meetings and partings at home, and chording wel) 


200 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


with our pilgrim condition. We concluded to 
make response ; and we tarried there. 

The rock seemed to be full of water, oozing out 
from the seams, dripping over rich mosses, with 
jets, here and there, leaping into the light with a 
bound of a few inches, and quietly expiring among 
the thick weather-stains and lichens, as if satisfied 
with their brief existence. The little things made 
me think of the sweet souls of infants passing into 
time, and then immediately out of it. As we lis 
tened, we heard what Addison describes in his 
version of the twenty-third Psalm: 

“ And streams shall murmur all around.” 

The ladies took off their bonnets, and we our 
hats, and we stood under the cascade, looking up, 
and feeling, or fancying that we felt, the cool spray 
on our heads and faces. We drank of the rock, 
and we thought of that Rock which followed 
Israel. It seemed good to have such an image of 
Jesus as such a rock, with the strength of the hills 
in it, and with its inexhaustible springs, its beauti¬ 
ful entablature, its cool shadow, following a com¬ 
pany through a desert. What thoughts and feel¬ 
ings did it give us respecting our adorable Imman- 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


201 


uel, God with us. Dear Susan, looking up, said, 
“ Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” 

Aftej invoking the blessing of God, and refresh¬ 
ing ourselves from our little store, our friends 
wandered away by themselves, and left us to enjoy 
the opportunity for prayer, which we supposed 
they also sought in withdrawing from us. 

As they returned, the father had the little boy 
on his two hands, and, approaching me, he looked 
up to the cascade, and said, ut See, here is water; 
what doth hinder me to be baptized ? ’ ” 

I was at no loss to understand the quotation 
and the request. 

“ Would you like to have the little one baptized 
here ? ” said I. 

“We should,” they both exclaimed. “We are 
going into a destitute place at the West, and there 
is no church, you tell us, within several miles of 
where we expect to live. It is very uncertain 
about our being able to procure baptism for the 
child there; and where could we enjoy the ordi¬ 
nance more, or make it more impressive upon our 
hearts, than here, so long as we have no house of 
God, which we remember, however, from 1 the hill 
Mizar’? ” 


202 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


I told them that the experience of Philip and 
the eunuch, in the desert, was, just as likely as not, 
the. same as ours. “ See, here is water.” The 
probability of its being a road-side spring, in a 
rock, or out of the earth, was greater than of its 
being a pool in the desert, large enough to immerse 
a man in it, leaving out of view the inconveniences 
of being bathed along the way. We have both 
gone “ down out of the chariot,” said I — (you 
would have smiled to see our great, strong, mud¬ 
died wain)— and we have done what the literal 
Greek says they did, “ went down to the water; ” 
and when we start, we shall u come up from the 
water.” But let us read 1 the place of the Scrip¬ 
ture ’ which the eunuch was reading when Philip 
joined him. 

Susan took from her bag the blue velvet-cov¬ 
ered Bible, which you gave her, unclasped it, and 
turned to the fifty-second chapter of Isaiah, at my 
request, and began to read. 0, how soft and 
sweet was the sound of a female voice, repeating 
words of inspiration in that beautiful, solitary spot! 
The Scriptures had not been divided into chapters 
and verses for the eunuch, as for us, but we no¬ 
ticed that the last verse of the chapter preceding 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


203 


“ the. place of the Scripture which he read,” not 
divided from it in his copy of Isaiah, was, “So shall 
he sprinkle many nations;” which, we thought, 
proved that the eunuch had had the idea of bap¬ 
tism suggested to him by those words; and quite 
as conclusively proving it, as “ buried with him in 
baptism ” proves immersion. 

However, being agreed on all these points, we 
made no long discourse about them, but dwelt up¬ 
on the Son of God as the Redeemer of Abraham's 
seed, and in whom all the promises of God, includ¬ 
ing those made to Abraham, are yea, and in him 
amen. 

I said to my friends, “ The Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, are about to write their several and 
joint names on this child’s forehead. 

“ As a lamb has the owner’s mark upon his side, 
this child is to be claimed by them, to be brought 
up for the service and glory of its redeeming God. 

“You are to give him away, to be disposed of 
by the Most High. You are to be, for Him, what 
the mother of Moses was for Pharaoh’s daughter 
— nurses to your own child. This dear child 
lay helpless and exposed, with all of us, to de¬ 
struction ; the Redeemer passed that way; he 


204 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


heard its cries: he had compassion upon it; he 
saved it from the condemning sentence of divine 
justice; and now he calls you, and says , 1 Take this 
child, and bring it up for me, and I will give thee 
thy wages.’ He does not commit the child to 
church, nor pastor, nor Sabbath-school, but to its 
own father and mother, who may and will avail 
themselves of all the appointed and the useful 
helps for its nurture and admonition in the Lord; 
but he looks to you, as having the chief and prin¬ 
cipal responsibility, to bring up this child for God. 

“ You covenant to lay your plans for this child, 
so that he may, by the surest means, live for God. 
To this end you will pray with him and for him; 
teach him what was done for him in baptism, and 
before, and afterwards; how God was before¬ 
hand with him, and was found of him who sought 
him not. He is to be trained up as a Christian 
child, with a view to his early conversion, and 
your great concern is not to be, how he may pro¬ 
mote his private happiness, or yours, hut how he 
may best serve God. 

“ To this end, you will, from the first, watch over 
all his moral faculties, and instil into him the prin¬ 
ciples of truth and uprightness ; not letting him 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


205 


run loose among the vanities of the world, and 
feed upon its miserable, corrupted sentiments, and 
choose worldly and godless persons for his inti¬ 
mate associates, his manners and his habits being- 
like a garden which runs to weeds, and his whole 
nature left to the perils of sin, trusting to some 
sudden act of conversion to bring him right; but 
you will rather be diligent to 1 fill the water-pots 
with water/ and wait for Christ to turn it into 
wine. You intend, and you promise, that you will 
educate this child from the beginning with all that 
strictness of Christian principle which you would 
expect of him were he, in his infancy, to be a pro¬ 
fessing Christian, his duty being the' same, and, 
consequently, yours toward him, whether he is 
regenerate or not,— one and the same law of God 
being our rule, irrespective of conditions. 

“ In all times of sickness and peril, you are to 
feel that this child is the Lord’s, to be disposed of 
by him, without consulting you. If called to die 
and leave him, you will remember that you re¬ 
ceived him from God, that he belonged to God at 
first, and when he was placed in your care; and 

that God, who thus has the most perfect claim to 
18 


206 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


him, will perfect that which concerns him, even if 
his parents are in the grave. 

“And while you thus covenant with God, the 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, covenant with you, 
and with the child through you, to be the God of 
your seed, affording you special help in training 
the child, bestowing special blessings upon it tend¬ 
ing to its spiritual good, having a particular regard 
for it as something lent to him, and belonging to 
you; while, in another sense, it is lent to you, and 
belongs to him ; and he and you are to regard the 
child agreeably to this beautiful transmutation of 
ownership and loan. The baptism itself cannot save 
the chilcl, any more than the Lord’s Supper can 
save you; but it is among the first of means to 
promote the salvation of the child, not merely 
through its effect on you, or its remembered grace 
and goodness when the child can be made to ap¬ 
preciate it; but above all, and through all, and in 
all, it seals that covenant of a covenant-keeping 
God, assisting your efforts and those of the child, 
— that promise, I say, ‘ I will be his God, and he 
shall be my son.’ ” 

We named the little boy, Philip, as a memorial 
of the road-side baptism. We stood under the 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


207 


shadow of that great rock, and worshipped Abra¬ 
ham’s God. 11 Doubtless thou art our father, 
though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel 
acknowledge us not.” The voice of prayer was 
joined by chimes and symphonies from trickling 
rills, and the freshening breeze in a silver-leaved 
maple, leaning at an angle of thirty-five degrees, 
just above us in the rock, all as quiet as the dear 
infant’s breathing; while, now and then, the sud¬ 
den flapping and rushing of birds’ wings made the 
monotone around us more soothing. 

From a little jet of water, that formed an arc of 
about an inch, as it burst into life and then disap¬ 
peared in a great moss-bed, I caught my palm full, 
and laid it upon the unconscious head. 

The little hands were suddenly lifted and 
dropped, as though a slight shock had been expe¬ 
rienced, then a smile played round the mouth, 
and the sleep seemed deeper. 

And will God in very deed dwell on earth ? 
Will the adorable Trinity be present at such a 
scene as this ? Present! “ All power is given 

unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, there¬ 
fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the * Father ; and of the Son, and of the 


208 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


Holy Gl\ost. 77 He will not appoint this ordinance, 
and fail to be present; the God of redemption is 
a party to that transaction by which an immortal 
sonl, with an existence commensurate with his 
own, is consecrated to him by its natural guard¬ 
ians, acting in the place of God, and for the child, 
and joining them in covenant. 

“ Shall we ever forget this ? 77 said the husband 
to his wife, as we were riding along that beautiful 
afternoon. 

“ Never, 77 said she ; but she added, sensible wo¬ 
man as she was, “ the beauty and sentiment of the 
place seemed to me nothing, compared with the 
privilege of covenanting with God, and having 
him covenant with us for the child. After all/ 7 
said she, “ I would have been glad to have had the 
baptism in our little church at home, and to have 
secured good Mrs. Maberry 7 s prayers, and those 
of our church, for the child, at its baptism. I must 
write to her, and get her to tell the Maternal Asso¬ 
ciation about it, and ask them not to forget little 
Philip. 77 

“What would you have named it, 77 said my wife y 
“ had it been a girl ? 77 

“ O, 77 said she, smiling, “ I was thinking on th© 


XHE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


209 


hill, that, if it had been a girl, I should have called 
it Candace, for the Ethiopian queen.” 

u And Canda, for shortness and sweetness, I sup¬ 
pose,” said her husband, his eyes twinkling and 
sparkling with love, as he looked at her, and from 
her upon us. 

11 He’s a sweet little thing, you know he is,” 
said the mother, burying her face in the child’s 
bosom, and giving it something between a good 
long smell and a good long kiss, or both; a thing 
which mothers alone know exactly how to do. 

“ Suppose,” said I, “ that, instead of little Philip, 
it had been you, sir, and Mrs. Blair, who had 
needed to be baptized. 

" Here you are, on a journey. You do not 
know that you will be able to avail yourselves of 
religious ordinances, in your new home, for a long 
time to come ; and, besides, regarding baptism not 
merely as a profession of religion, but as an act 
of Almighty God, sealing you with his appointed 
sign of the covenant,, you have strong desires to 
receive it, here in this 1 way unto Gaza, which is 
desert,’ from my hands. 

“ { See, here is water,’ in rich abundance. But, 

18 * 


210 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


alas ! there is no pond, nor pool, no lake, nor 
river ! 77 

“ Even if there were,” said my wife to Mrs. 
Blair, “ I should shudder to have you venture into 
untried waters, in this lonely place. Fear, at least, 
would prevent any peace of mind, or satisfying 
enjoyment.” 

“ ‘ What doth hinder me to be baptized ? 7 you 
would properly say to me,” I continued. “‘0/ my 
reply could be, 1 the water is not in an available 
shape. Had we time to scoop out a tank in the 
earth, or make a stone baptistery in the rock, then 
you might be “buried with him by baptism into 
death.” But it is impossible. This living foun¬ 
tain of waters in the mountain, full and overflow¬ 
ing though it be, does not allow of Christian bap¬ 
tism. Besides, as to suitable apparel, and all the 
necessary arrangements for comfort, not to say 
propriety, — you see that baptism here is out of 
the question. 7 77 

“Do you think/ 7 said Mrs. Blair, “ that the Head 
of the church has appointed any such invariable 
mode of administering baptism, — one that cannot 
be applied in numerous cases ? 77 

I said to her, “ I cannot believe it. The genius 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


211 


of Christianity seems opposed to it. Let all who 
will, use immersion; we love them still, and re¬ 
joice in their liberty, but I cannot agree that it 
was the New Testament method. Even had it 
been, I should expect that the rule would be flexi¬ 
ble enough to meet cases of necessity.” 

“ I was thinking,” said Mr. Blair, “ that, at least, 
four fifths of all the people of God have gone to 
heaven unbaptized, if immersion is the only valid 
mode of baptism. This is rather a serious thing, 
if the solemn words, 1 He that believeth, and is bap¬ 
tized, shall be saved/ look only to baptism by im¬ 
mersion. It seems to me,” he added, “that the 
providence of God would have brought in some 
great reformation from so calamitous an error in 
the church, if it were an error. Some Luther, or 
Calvin, or Knox, or some John Baptist, would 
have been raised up, as in other emergencies, to 
bring the church back to her duty.” 

“How clearly,” said I, “does that seem to prove 
that all the people of God have, as Paul says, 
1 One Lord, one faith, one baptism/ however vari¬ 
ant their modes of worship and administration 
may be.” 

“ How many baptized children, from Christian 


212 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


families/* said my wife, 11 are gathered together in 
heaven! I cannot think of them as the unfortunate 
subjects of a superstitious or corrupt observance, 
at the hands of the ministers of Jesus, in all ages 
of the world. There must seem to them, as they 
increase in knowledge, a beautiful fitness in their 
having had those adorable names inscribed upon 
them, with God’s own initiatory seal of his cove¬ 
nant. What loving-kindness it must appear to 
them, that God gave them the ordinance of bap¬ 
tism, and became their God! How it will stand 
out before their minds as a principal illustration 
of being saved by grace ! ” 

a And then, again,” said Mr. Blair, u think of the 
millions of children in heaven who were not bap¬ 
tized,— saved, the most of them, from heathen and 
pagan lands. How ‘the gift by grace, which is 
by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto 
many.’ Baptism is not an austere law. There is 
nothing austere or rigid, in any sense, connected 
with it; but it makes me think of the water itself, 
scattered in so many beautiful and pliable forms 
all over the earth, in fountains, water-falls, dew, 
rain-drops; and, when it cannot < stand before His 
cold/ it comes down softly upon us, in crystal aste- 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


213 


roids and all the geometrical forms of snow. I 
love to think that God has associated that beauti¬ 
ful element, the water, with religion. And now it 
does not seem accordant with the works and ways 
of Him, of whom we say, 1 How great is his good¬ 
ness, how great is his beauty/ to make one obdu¬ 
rate mode of bringing the water in connection with 
us essential to an ordinance, whose element seems 
everywhere to shun preciseness.” 

“ Water is certainly a beautiful emblem of open 
communion,” said one of the ladies. “ It must be 
conscious, one would think, of violence done to its 
ubiquitous nature, to be made the occasion of sep¬ 
arating beloved friends, at the Table whose sym¬ 
bolized Blood has made them one in Christ.” 

But we had to part. I told them that my wife 
and I would certainly be sponsors for little Philip, 
in the best sense ; we would make a record of its 
history, thus far, among our family memorials; tell 
our children about him, and charge them in after 
life to inquire for him, and lose no opportunity of 
doing him good. Though, as to that, I could not 
help saying, no one knows in this world who will 
be benefactor or beneficiary. 


214 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


11 Our children will always be interested in each 
other,” said his wife, “ for their parents’ sake.” 

“ Can we not sing a hymn ? ” said the husband. 
We found that our voices made a quartet. 
Susan was ready with her beautiful contralto, 
Mrs. Blair sung the soprano, Mr. Blair the tenor, 
and I the base. 

THE BAPTISMAL HYMN. 

“ Lord, what our ears have heard, 

Our eyes delighted trace — 

Thy love, in long succession shown. 

To Zion’s chosen race. 

** Our children thou dost claim, 

And mark them out for thine ; 

Ten thousand blessings to thy name 
For goodness so divine. 

** Thee, let the fathers own. 

And thee, the sons adore. 

Joined to the Lord in solemn vows. 

To be forgot no more. 

* Thy covenant may they keep, 

And bless the happy bands 
Which closer still engage their hearts. 

To honor thy commands. 


THE ROAD-SIDE BAPTISM. 


215 


“ How great thy mercies, Lord ! 

How plenteous is thy grace ! 

Which, in the promise of thy love, 

Includes our rising race. 

“ Our offspring, still thy care. 

Shall own their fathers’ God ; 

To latest times thy blessings share. 

And sound thy praise abroad.” 

We saw them and their baggage on board the 
wagon that was to take them over to the river; 
we waved our farewell, and sent our kisses; and, 
just as they were turning a corner which hid 
them from our view, the father stood up in the 
wagon, and held little Philip as high as he could 
(the mother, of course, reaching up her arms to 
hold them both fast), as though to catch the last 
benediction. The long, flowing white dress of the 
child gave the picture a waving, vanishing effect, 
reminding us of our first sight of the cascade, 
which, with the whole transaction t^ which it gave 
occasion, has taken a permanent place in our 
sleeping and waking dreams. 


The Children op the Chukch. 

Go, now, ye that are men, and serve the Lord. — Pharaoh. 

We will go with our young, and with our old, with our sons, and with our daugh 
ters. — Moses. 

Hosanna to the Son of David. — The Children in the Temple. 

The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established 
before thee. — Psalm 102: 28. 

The reader will now be introduced, in imagina¬ 
tion, to a seat in tbe window of a country parson¬ 
age, with honeysuckle-vines trained over an arched 
lattice-work that spans the window. There are 
several large maples in the yard, which is a grass- 
plot, where six gentlemen are enjoying pleasant 
conversation, and are seated at their ease, some in 
chairs, and the rest on a sofa, which, at the sug¬ 
gestion of a kind lady, they had lifted from its 
place in the parlor to the yard. 

They are all of them pastors of churches, met, 
for social intercourse and friendly counsel, at the 
house of one of their number, with their wives, 


THE CHILDREN OP THE CHURCH. 


217 


who are also together by themselves, in a pleasant 
room on the north side of the house, and into 
whose sayings and doings these husbands will, no 
doubt, be disposed to make, in due time, suitable 
inquiry. 

Those wonderful little elves, the humming-birds, 
are frequent visitors to those honeysuckles, under 
which I have placed my reader to be a listener. 
How many vibrations those little wings make in a 
minute, how so long a bill can have subtractive 
force sufficient to get anything from the flower, 
how, when obtained, that product is conveyed to 
the throat, and where these creatures build their 
nests, and whither they migrate, are questions 
which will, perhaps, divert attention from every¬ 
thing else for a time, especially if the reader has 
escaped for a season from a large city, and is one 
of those who there u dwell in courts.” Perhaps, 
therefore, he will choose to refresh himself, in silent 
contemplation, in this arbor; and I will make true 
report of all that transpires in the yard. 

One of these pastors, Mr. A., has been reading 
to his brethren, for their judgment as to the sound¬ 
ness of his views, a sermon, not yet preached, on 
the relation of baptized children to the church. 

19 


218 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


We will call him, and two of the ministers who 
agreed with his views, by their initials, respect 
ively, which consisted of the first three letters ol 
the alphabet; while the three who dissented from 
them had, as initials to their names, letters remote 
from these. Neither Messrs. A., B., and C., nor 
Messrs. B., S., and T., had had any previous con¬ 
cert or comparison of views on this interesting 
subject; but they found themselves thus arrayed 
on different sides of the question. 

Omitting the sermon that gave occasion to the 
discussion which follows, a few lines only will put 
us in possession of the whole subject. I give the 
opening paragraph: 

“ It is held by all who practise infant baptism, 
that the children of believers have a peculiar rela¬ 
tion to the church. That relation is very gener¬ 
ally expressed by the word membership. We have 
treatises, by the most orthodox divines, on the 
church-membership of the children of believers; 
which children they freely call members of the 
Christian church; and, in catechisms and confes 
sions of faith, the church of Christ is declared to 
consist of such as are in covenant relations with 
God, and their offspring.” 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


219 


The sermon being finished, Mr. R. was first 
called upon by the chairman, Mr. C., for his re¬ 
marks. The question, as stated by the chairman, 
was, Are the children of believers, in any sense, 
members of the church ? If so, what is it ? and, 
if not, what relation to the church do they sus¬ 
tain ? 

Mr. R. I presume that brother A. does not wish 
us to take up time with criticisms upon his style. 
He seeks to know our views with regard to the 
subject of the sermon. I am compelled to say, at 
once, that I differ from the views expressed by the 
reader, if he means by the terms, members and 
membership), which he employs, all which they 
would convey to the majority of hearers. But I 
noticed that when he, and those excellent men 
whom he quotes, come to define what they mean 
by members, and membership, in this connection, 
they make explanations, and qualifications, and also 
protestations, showing that no one can be, in their 
view, a member of the spiritual, or, what is called 
the invisible, church of Christ, without repentance 
and faith. Rightly understood, therefore, they are 
free from any just imputation of making unscrip- 
tural terms of membership in the kingdom of 


220 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


Christ. And, perhaps, when those of us who dis¬ 
sent from some of their propositions, fully under¬ 
stand the limitations which the writers themselves 
affix to their use of terms, no great discrepancy 
will be found to exist. 

It admits of a question, therefore, in my view, 
whether the terms members and membership , as 
applied to children, really mean that which these 
writers themselves intend to convey by them; 
for certainly they do not mean all which their 
readers at first suppose. The terms in question 
require a great deal of explanation, which a term, 
if possible, ought never to need. And, after all 
has been said, a wrong impression is conveyed to 
the minds of many, while opponents gain undue 
advantage in arguing against that which, for sub¬ 
stance, all the friends of infant baptism cordially 
maintain. 

If Br. A. is asked, u In what sense are children 
members of the church,” he Resorts, for illustration, 
to citizenship, and to the sisterhood in the church 
itself, to show how children and females may be 
members of the community, and, in the case of 
females, may belong to the church, while yet their 
privileges and functions are limited. So, he says. 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


221 


the children of believers are a component part of 
God’s church, not entitled to the use of all its 
privileges till they are renewed by the Spirit of 
God, yet so related by the sovereign appointment 
of God to those who are members, as to be, in a 
subordinate sense, a part of the church. 

Could the friends of infant baptism agree on 
some term, which would express their common be¬ 
lief with regard to the relation of believers’ chil¬ 
dren to the church, better than member , I think 
it must have a happy effect in promoting harmony 
of views and feelings, and take away from others 
the grounds of several present objections. 

It was here agreed that, instead of the question 
going round to each in turn, the conversation 
should be free, subject to the rule of the chair¬ 
man. 

Mr. A., the reader, then said that he should be 
glad to learn from his Br. R. precisely what his 
views were of the relation of baptized children to 
the church. “ Let us see,” he said, “ how far we 
are agreed as to the actual nature of this relation.” 

“Well, then,” said Mr. R., “I will begin with 
this: 

“ They are the children of God’s friends. We 
19 * 


222 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


all know how God reminds Israel of their relation 
to Abraham, his friend, tells them they are be-: 
loved for the fathers’ sakes, and he remembers his 
covenant with those friends of his, their fathers, 
when provoked by the children’s sins. Toward 
the child of one who loves God (not merely a 
church-member, but a friend of God), I suppose 
there are affections on the part of God, of which 
our own feelings toward the child of a dear Chris¬ 
tian friend are a representation. This love to the 
child of his friend, I always thought, is the great 
element in that arrangement of the Most High 
which we call the Abrahamic covenant; for he 
who made us, knew how much a love for our chil¬ 
dren, on the part of others, draws us together, 
and what bonds are constituted and strengthened 
between men through their children; and that one 
great means of promoting love to Him would be, 
his manifesting special love and care for the off¬ 
spring of those who love him. God has a people, 
friends; and the children of such are the children 
of his dearly-beloved friends. In this we are all 
agreed.” 

“ Certainly,” said Mr. A., u but you will go fur¬ 
ther than this, I presume.” 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


223 


Mr. It. Yes, Mr. Chairman. One thing more is 
true of them: 

They are the 'principal source of the church’s 
increase. The selection of Abraham, with a view 
to make of his lineage, the banks, within whose de¬ 
fensive influences grace should find helps in mak¬ 
ing its way in this ungodly world, had reference, I 
believe, to that power of hereditary family influ¬ 
ence, which has not ceased, and will not cease, to 
the end of time. It is beautiful and affecting to 
see that recognition of our free agency, and that 
unwillingness ever to interfere with it, which leads 
the Most High to fall in with the principles of our 
nature established by himself, in placing his chief 
reliance on the natural love of parents for their 
offspring to contribute, by far, the larger part of 
those who shall be converted. In this arrangement 
and expectation do we not find the deep roots of 
infant baptism ? which thus appears to be neither 
Jewish nor Gentile, but grows out of our nature 
itself, which also requires, which demands, some 
rite, a symbolic sign and seal. God made the chil¬ 
dren of Adam partakers with him of his curse; so 
that the parental and filial relation was, from the 
beginning made a stream to bear along the conse 


224 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


quences of the first transgression. No new thing, 
therefore, was instituted when God, in calling 
Abraham, appointed the parental and filial relation 
to bear, on its deep and mighty stream, the most 
powerful means of godliness in all coming genera¬ 
tions. How little do we think of this, Mr. Chair¬ 
man, and brethren; how apt we are to neglect this 
great arrangement of divine providence and grace, 
— the perpetuation of the church, chiefly by 
means of the parental and filial relation. But, if 
such be the divine appointment, and the children 
of believers are therefore the most hopeful sources 
of the church’s increase, of course they may be 
said to belong to the church, in a peculiar sense, 
but without being “members.” 

Mr. A. I think you are coming on very well 
toward my ground. I certainly agree with you 
thus far. 

Mr. R. If I am not taking up too much time, 
Mr. Chairman, I should like to proceed a little fur¬ 
ther, in order to do full justice to my views. If I 
am found to agree with Br. A., it will be just as 
pleasant as though he agreed with me. 

Chairman. Please to proceed. Two things. 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


225 


which are equal to the same thing, are equal to 
each other. 

Mr . R. I will, then, say, once more : 

The children of believers are the subjects of pre¬ 
eminent privileges and blessings. Special prom¬ 
ises are made to them from love to their parents ; 
great advantages are theirs, directly and indi¬ 
rectly, from their relation to those who are the 
true worshippers of God; forbearance, long suf¬ 
fering, the remembrance of consecrations and 
vows, prevail with God, oftentimes, in their behalf 
when they have broken their father’s command¬ 
ment and forsaken the law of their mother. No 
words of tenderness, in any relation of life,— said 
Mr. R., turning to the Psalms, — surpass those, in 
which are described the feelings of God toward 
the rebellious sons of Abraham: “But he, being 
full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and 
destroyed them not; yea, many a time turned he 
his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.” 
“ For he remembered his holy promise, and Abra¬ 
ham his servant.” God still remembers Abraham, 
his servant, in the person of every father and 
mother who loves him, and is steadfast in his cov¬ 
enant ; and “ the generation of the upright shall be 


226 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


blessed.” Mistakes in family government, growing 
out of wrong principles, too great reliance upon 
future conversion, and the neglect of that moral 
training which is essential to the best develop¬ 
ment of religious character, and, indeed, without 
which religious character is often a melancholy 
distortion, or sadly defective, may be followed by 
their natural consequences ; and we cannot com¬ 
plain,— for God works no miracle, nor turns aside 
any great law, in favor of our misconduct; yet it 
remains true that all who love and serve him, and 
command their children and households to fear 
the Lord, enforcing it in all the proper ways of 
government, discipline, example, and the right 
observance of religious ordinances, public and 
private, may expect peculiar blessings upon their 
offspring. 

One of the youngest of the company, the father 
of one young child, here inquired, if the speaker 
would have us infer that the conversion of such 
children is to be looked for as a matter of 
course. 

Mr. R. Ordinarily, they will grow up in the 
nurture and admonition of the Lord, to be fol¬ 
lowers of Christ: the proportion of persons bap- 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


227 


tized on admission to the church, will become 
small; a healthful tone of religious feeling will 
pervade our churches; less and less reliance will 
be placed on startling measures, on splendid tal¬ 
ents, on novelties, to promote the cause of reli¬ 
gion ; but Christian families will extend like the 
cultivated fields of different proprietors, whose 
green and flowering hedges, instead of stone 
walls, mingle all into one landscape. “And the 
work of righteousness shall be peace, and the 
effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance 
forever.” “ And my people shall dwell in a peace¬ 
able habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet 
resting-places.” “ And all thy children shall be 
taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace 
of thy children.” Such, I believe, is sure to be 
the manner of the church’s prosperity, and there¬ 
fore the children who are to be the subjects of 
these inestimable blessings must be said, in some 
sense, to belong to the church, they being the 
objects of special regard with the church and 
with God. Br. A. agrees with me in all this, I 
presume. 

Mr. A. Entirely; or, rather, you agree with me. 

“ Now, Br. A.,” said an earnest man of the 


228 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. , 


company, — who, however, immediately checked 
himself, and bowed to Mr. R., and said, u I dare 
say, Mr. Chairman, that Br. R. was going to put 
the very question which I intended to ask.” 

Mr. j E. Proceed, Br. S. I owe an apology for 
speaking so much. 

Mr. S. Will Br. A., Mr. Chairman, please to tell 
us why he feels obliged to call these children 
" members of the church ? ” 

For, we all know, that, notwithstanding all 
these glorious things, which are spoken of them, 
to which Br. A. has also referred, not one baptized 
child of a true believer can be, really, a member 
of the church, in regular standing, till he, like the 
unbaptized heathen convert, has repented of his 
sins and believed on the Lord Jesus. All the 
promises and privileges appertaining to his rela¬ 
tionship as a child of a believer, promote, and 
make more certain, his repentance and faith; and 
therefore, if asked, “ What profit, then, hath cir¬ 
cumcision, and its substitute, infant baptism ? ” we 
can reply, u Much every way;” but it never stood, 
and never can stand, in the place of justification 
by free grace through the personal exercise of 
faith in the Redeemer. 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


229 


Mr. 0. But I wish to ask, in the name of Br. 
A., and for my own sake, what objection there is 
to retaining the name, member, in this connec¬ 
tion ? 

Mr. S. My answer is, it is the occasion of 
great stumbling to those who reject infant bap¬ 
tism, and are confirmed in rejecting it, by misap¬ 
prehending the views and feelings of many who 
use the term in an objectionable sense. 

The discussion now became animated. Mr. S. 
said that he had a further objection. It leads many, 
who use it erroneously, into perplexing and fruit¬ 
less positions. Assuming that the children are 
members of the church, they discuss the question, 
as the sermon has stated, Of what church are they 
members ? Some reply, Of the church to which 
their parents belong. Others say nay, but of the 
church universal. Then they feel it incumbent 
upon them to provide some means of discipline for 
these so-called members. In case they grow up, 
and neglect to come with their parents to the 
Lord's Supper, must they not be disciplined ? 
Some insist that discipline, in some of its foims, 
must be administered, and, in certain cases, ex- 
communication must take place. 

20 


230 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


Mr. T. I know it, and I wonder at it. I should 
like to ask, who has deputed to any church the 
power to say when the divine forbearance with a 
child of the covenant has come to an end? Does 
it terminate at the age of twenty-one in the case 
of male children, and at eighteen in the case of 
females ? David, when a full-grown man, plead the 
covenant of God with his mother : “0 Lord, truly 
I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of 
thine handmaid.” Or, does it cease on the child’s 
leaving the parental roof for another place of resi¬ 
dence ? Or, on entering upon the married state ? 
Or, upon the commission of some great act of out¬ 
ward transgression, shall we pronounce the cove¬ 
nant to be dissolved ? Do we not see that we are 
meddling with a divine prerogative, if we assume 
to act in such cases ? Expostulations, warnings, 
entreaties, from parents, pastor, brethren of the 
church, may always be in place ; but further than 
these we cannot proceed. # 

“Perhaps, too,” said Mr. R., “if discipline were 
to fall anywhere, it might more justly descend on 
the parents of such a child.” 

Mr. T. The seeming mockery of a church pun 
ishing a youth for the neglect of that which he 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


231 


himself never promised to do, would most likely 
have the effect to drive him to a returnless dis* 
tance from the church, extinguishing the last ray 
of hope as to his conversion. A lit parallel to 
such proposed church-discipline of children, is 
found in the practice, which was not uncommon, 
twenty-five years ago, in a region of our country 
where great religious excitements prevailed for 
some time, when it was publicly recommended, in 
preaching and from the press, that parents who 
had labored in vain for the conversion of children, 
should, in certain cases, punish them, to make them 
submit to God. 

Mr. D. Is it possible ? 

Mr. T. Yes, sir; and the records of those times 
furnish instances in which this was done. Of such 
means of grace, I am happy to say, we have no 
such custom, neither the churches of God. 

Mr. S. Nor shall we probably ever see young 
people disciplined by the churches, for not repent- • 
ing and believing the Gospel. It is insisted on as 
theoretically proper, but they have never ventured 
to carry it out in practice. 

Mr. C., the chairman, said, “Brethren, there is 
strong authority in favor of the sermon.' Since 


232 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


yon have been talking, I have been looking over 
Dr. Hopkins’s works, to find this passage, which, if 
you please, I will read. Dr. Hopkins says: 

11 Though under the milder dispensation of the 
Gospel, no one is to be put to death for rejecting 
Christ and the Gospel, even though he were before 
this a member of the visible church, yet he is to 
be cut off, and cast out of the visible kingdom of 
Christ. And every child in the church, who grows 
up in disobedience to Christ, and, in this most im¬ 
portant concern, will not obey his parents, is thus 
to be rejected and cut off, after all proper means 
are used by his parents, and the church, to reclaim 
him, and bring him to his duty. Such an event will 
be viewed by Christian parents as worse than death, 
and is suited to be a constant, strong motive to 
concern, prayer, and fidelity, respecting their chil¬ 
dren, and their education; and it tends to have an 
equally desirable effect upon children, and must 
greatly impress the hearts of those who are in any 
degree considerate and serious.” 

Again : u When the children arrive at an age in 
which they are capable of acting for themselves in 
matters of religion, and making a profession of their 
adherence to the Christian faith, and practice, and 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


233 


coining to the Lord’s Supper, if they neglect and 
refuse to do this, and act contrary to the com¬ 
mands of Christ in any other respect, all proper 
means are to be used, and methods taken,to bring 
them to repentance, and to do their duty as Chris¬ 
tians, and, if they cannot be reclaimed, but continue 
impenitent and unreformed, they are to be rejected 
and cast out of the church, as other adult members 
are who persist in disobedience to Christ.” * 

“ Such words, from such a source,” said Mr. C., 
“ are entitled to great consideration.” 

" But,” said Mr. S., “ here is a passage from his 
own theological instructor, President Edwards : 

u 1 It is asked/ he says, 1 why these children, that 
were born in the covenant, are not cast out when, 
in adult age, they make no profession.’ He re¬ 
plies, 1 They are not cast out, because it is a mat¬ 
ter held in suspense whether they do cordially 
consent to the covenant or not; or whether their 
making no profession does not arise from some 
other cause; and none are to be excommunicated 
without some positive evidence against them.’ ” 

11 My dear sir,” said Mr. A., “ Mr. Edwards is 
there speaking of those who merely refuse to own 

* Hopkins’s Works (1852), vol. ii., pp. 158, 176. 

20 * 


234 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


the covenant, without being guilty of scandalous 
sin.” 

Mr. S. It is evident, nevertheless, that Hopkins 
goes further than he, and requires that those who, 
at years of full responsibility, refuse to own the 
covenant, shall be cut off. Modern writers on this 
subject, while insisting on the church-membership 
of children, draw back from this position, and are 
more in harmony with what, it seems to me, may be 
said to be the general sense of the churches on 
this subject. I feel glad, when reading such pas¬ 
sages as those from Hopkins, that we have liberty 
of opinion, and are not compelled to swear by the 
words of any master. I bow to such a divine as 
Hr. Hopkins, but he fails to satisfy me that he 
is right in these views of church-discipline for chil¬ 
dren. 

Mr. R., who was the oldest man of the company, 
now returned to the discussion, and said: u It is 
clear that one cannot be dispossessed of that 
which he never possessed, except as in the case of a 
minor, who may have his claim to a future posses¬ 
sion wrested from him. Of what is a child of the 
covenant, allowing him to be, while a child, a mem¬ 
ber of the church, — of what is he in possession ? 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


235 


Not of full communion, not of access to the Lord’s 
table, not of the right to a voice in the call and 
settlement of a pastor, nor in any other church 
act. From what, then, is he turned out by being 
cut off? He has never arrived at anything from 
which he can be separated, except the covenant 
of God with him through his parents, and its at¬ 
tendant privileges of watch and care. If, then, we 
excommunicate an unconverted child, we can only 
declare the covenant of God with him, henceforth, 
to be null and void, — an assumption from which, 
probably, Christian parents and ministers would 
shrink. The same long-suffering God, who bears 
and forbears with ourselves, we shall be disposed 
to feel, is the God of this recreant child, and no 
good man would dare to pronounce the child to be 
separated from the mercies of ‘ the God of patience 
and hope.’ One who, being in a church, breaks a 
covenant to which he assented, may be a just sub¬ 
ject for discipline, even to excommunication ; but, 
all the promises of God to the child being wholly 
free, conditioned, at first, upon his parents’ rela¬ 
tion to God, all the disability which the child 
seems capable of receiving, is, that the promises 
made to him he must fail, by his own fault, to 


236 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


receive. Who will declare even his prospect of 
their fulfilment to be terminated at any given 
time ? Much more, who will undertake to divest 
him of things which he never had ? The church- 
membership, from which you profess to expel him, 
does not yet exist in his case ; he has not reached 
it. All the church-membership of which, if any, 
he has been possessed, is, his hopeful relation to 
God and his people through a parent. To excom¬ 
municate a child from this would be a strange pro¬ 
cedure. 

Mr. A. That is the strongest thing which I have 
heard on that side. I must confess (said he, ris¬ 
ing and leaning against one of the maples) that I 
am a little staggered. 

But Mr. B. came to reinforce his faltering 
brother. 

“Here,” said he, “is the Cambridge Platform. 
You will all be willing to hear from that source.” 

“ Let us hear,” said two or three voices. 

Mr. B. read as follows : 

“The like trial (examination) is to be required 
from such members of the church as were born in 
the same, or received their membership, and were 
baptized in their infancy or minority, by virtue of 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


237 


the covenant of their parents, when, being grown 
up unto years of discretion, they shall desire to be 
made partakers of the Lord’s Supper; unto which, 
because holy things must not be given to the u; 
worthy, therefore it is requisite that these, as well 
as others, should come to their trial and examina¬ 
tion, and manifest their faith and repentance by 
an open profession thereof before they are re¬ 
ceived to the Lord’s Supper, and otherwise not to 
be admitted thereunto. Yet those church-mem 
bers that were so born, or received in their child¬ 
hood, before they are capable of being made par¬ 
takers of full communion, have many privileges 
which others, not church-members, have not; they 
are in covenant with God, have the seal thereof 
upon them, namely, baptism; and so, if not regen¬ 
erated, yet are in a more hopeful way of attaining 
regenerating grace, and all the spiritual blessings 
both of the covenant and seal; they are also under 
church-watch, and consequently subject to the 
reprehensions, admonitions, and censures thereof, 
for their healing and amendment, as need shall re¬ 
quire.” * 


Cambridge Platform, chap. iii. 7. 


238 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


Mr. R. Now, please. Br. B., what does all that 
prove ? 

Mr. B. Why, it proves that, in the judgment of 
the Cambridge Platform, the children of church- 
members are members of the churches. 

Mr. R. It shows that the Cambridge Platform 
calls them members; but it gives us no proof that 
they are properly called members. A great deal 
in that extract, I undertake to say, will command 
the cordial assent of all who practise infant bap¬ 
tism, if we except the use of the term members. 
It shows that, as to coming into the company of 
true believers, and being one of them, the only 
way is through repentance and faith, — a way 
common to the unbaptized. The only advantage, 
but one which is exceedingly great and precious 
on the part of the believer’s children, being, that 
they u have many privileges,” and “ are in a more 
hopeful way of attaining regenerating grace.” 
But the term membership does not express 
their relation to the church before they are con¬ 
verted. 

Mr. B. (After a pause.) I do not know but you 
are right. 

Mr. C., the remaining advocate of the sermon, 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


239 


said, “Let me refresh your memories with the 
famous case quoted in Morton’s New Englan l Me¬ 
morial. He says: 

“‘The two ministers there (Salem, 1629), being 
seriously studious of reformation, they considered 
the state of their children, together with their 
parents, concerning which letters did pass between 
Mr. Higginson (of Salem) and Mr. Brewster, the 
reverend elder of the church of Plymouth; and 
they did agree in their judgments, namely, con¬ 
cerning the church-membership of the children 
with their parents, and that baptism was a seal of 
their membership; only, when they were adult, 
they being not scandalous, they were to be exam¬ 
ined by the church officers, and upon their appro¬ 
bation of their fitness, and upon the children’s 
public and personally owning of the covenant, 
they were to be received unto the Lord’s Supper. 
Accordingly, Mr. Higginson’s eldest son, being 
about fifteen years of age, was owned to have- 
been received a member together with his parents, 
and being privately examined by the pastor, Mr. 
Skelton (the other minister of Salem), about his 
knowledge in the principles of religion, he did pre¬ 
sent him before the church when the Lord’s Sup- 


240 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


per was to be administered, and, the child then pub 
licly and personally owning the covenant of the 
God of his father, he was admitted unto the Lord’s 
Supper, it being there professedly owned, accord¬ 
ing to 1 Cor. 7: 14, that the children of the church 
are holy unto the Lord, as well as their parents.’ ” 
Mr. R. stood up, and, with an animated look and 
manner, but with a very pleasant voice, said: 

“ What, now, my good brother, did these good 
ministers do, with this youth, more or less than we 
all do for the children of our pastoral charge ? 

" Of what practical use was his so-called infant 
1 church-membership,’ in addition to his being, as 
we all hold, a child of the covenant ? ” 

They made no reply for a little while, till at last 
Mr. A.'said: 

“ Well, Br. R., what names would you substitute 
for members and membership ? ” 

Mr. B. “ The children of the church ; ” for 
you have it in the last sentence of the extract 
which you read from Morton; — the true, the most 
appropriate, and, in every respect, the best name 
for those who are so ambiguously called members. 
Mr. B. There is great beauty and sweetness in 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


241 


that name, I confess,— “the children of the 
church,” “ the church’s children.” 

Mr. R. A father never, except for concealment, 
says, 11 a member of my family,” when “ a child ” is 
meant. The term members , besides being equivo¬ 
cal, and requiring explanation, is not so good as 
u children of the church,” an expression which in¬ 
cludes and covers all that any would claim for 
“ infant church-members.” 

Mr. C. I confess, I like Br. R.’s views and pro¬ 
position. If, by calling the offspring of believers, 
“ the children of the church,” we, by implication, 
abridged any of their privileges, or if, by calling 
them church-members, we believed that they ac¬ 
quired rights and privileges not otherwise apper¬ 
taining to them, we ought to prefer the words 
member and membership; but it is not so. No 
one of the writers cited, — and the proofs we all 
know could be extended by quoting from other 
authors, — claims the right of a child to full com¬ 
munion, except upon evidence, in his “ trial and 
examination,” that he is regenerate. Indeed, the 
only use to which the terms member and member¬ 
ship seem to be applied, is, in furnishing some 
ground for urging the discipline and excommuni- 
21 


242 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


cation of the child. This, though urged by some, 
is urged in vain. 

Mr. R. Other terms, in connection with mem¬ 
bers and membership, have been proposed, such 
as members in minority, members in suspension, 
future members; but all in vain. The children 
of believers are certainly the children of the 
church, and such I devoutly hope and pray they 
may come to be called. 

Mr. A. Seeing that the use of the term member 
keeps before our minds a theoretical, hard neces¬ 
sity, from which every one shrinks, I think I will 
alter my sermon so far as to dismiss the term, and, 
with it, all sense of inconsistency in neglected 
obligations as to disciplining these young u mem¬ 
bers.” 

“ Well, Br. A.,” said Mr. B., “I will join you in 
submission.” 

“ So will I,” said Mr. C. “ How good it is to be 
convinced, and to give up one’s own will; is it 
not?” 

“ It ought to be,” said Mr. A., “ to those whose 
great business it is to preach submission. But I 
think we did not differ at first, except as to the use 
of terms.” 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


243 


Mr. T. I wish to make a confession. Though 
I have always been of Br. R.’s opinion, I have felt 
it to be invidious, and, for several reasons, disa¬ 
greeable, to call a meeting of u the children of the 
church,”— making a distinction between them and 
the other children of my pastoral charge. Am I 
correct in such views and feelings ? 

u Come, Mr. Chairman,” said Mr. A., u we have 
not paid you sufficient deference, I fear; for we 
have hardly kept order, in addressing one another, 
and not through you. Now, please to speak for 
us, and tell us what you think of Br. T.’s diffi¬ 
culty.” 

Mr. G. I have sinned with you, as to keeping 
order, if there has been any transgression; but I 
have been so much interested and instructed, that I 
forgot*my preeminence over you. But to Br. T., I 
would say, There is a church; and it means some¬ 
thing, and something of infinite importance. All 
our labors have this for their end, to make men 
qualified for worthy church-membership, on earth, 
and in heaven, — the conditions of admission here 
and there, as we hold, being essentially the same- 
This church, which we thus build up, has children, 
call them what we may, the objects of God’s pecu- 


244 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


liar love. On that topic I need not dwell. We 
ought to pay some marks of special regard to 
these children, for God has done so. As to its 
being invidious, it is not more invidious than to 
address our congregations as partly Christians, 
and partly unconverted; or to invite the uncon¬ 
verted to meetings especially designed for them. 
Meetings of the children of my church, called by 
me, and addressed by me, never fail to make very 
deep impressions upon the young, upon their 
parents, upon other children, and upon the parents 
of those children. Another form of effecting the 
same desirable ends, is, to call meetings of parents 
in the church, and their children, and to address 
the parents and the children in sight and hearing 
of each other. In doing so, if there are any 
parents in the church who are withholding their 
children from baptism, we have the best of oppor¬ 
tunities to conciliate their feelings to the ordi¬ 
nance of baptism. We all know how little is 
effected in our minds by abstract reasoning upon 
any subject, where the feelings are deeply con¬ 
cerned ; close argument, invincible logic, absolute 
demonstrations, and all measures seemingly in¬ 
tended to coerce the will, excite resistance, and 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


245 


confirm us in our prejudices. But open to a 
parent, who has doubts on the subject, its inesti¬ 
mable benefits to all concerned, and he will be more 
disposed to see the grounds for it, and the abun¬ 
dant proofs of its divine authority, which the 
atmosphere of pure reason had not sufficient 
power of refraction to make him apprehend. 

Mr. S. I thank the chairman heartily for those 
remarks. May I add a leaf from my observation ? 
I have noticed that in such meetings of parents, 
in the church, and their children, good influences 
sometimes reach those who are pursuing the mis¬ 
taken course of withholding their children from 
baptism, under the plea that they can consecrate 
their children to God as well without baptism, as 
with it. They need to learn the spiritual power 
which God has vested in the sacraments of his own 
appointment, and to be disabused of the notion 
that the baptism of a child is, from beginning to 
end, merely a human act, of which God is only a 
spectator;—they need to feel that baptism is some¬ 
thing conferred upon a child by God; and not 
merely a sign, but a seal. 

“ Yes,” said Mr. R., “ it is an ordinance of God, 
and the neglect of it is not merely a failure to ob- 
21 * 


246 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


tain blessings, but a disregard of a divine ordi¬ 
nance ; not merely the withholding a sign of allegi¬ 
ance, but the loss of a seal,— the government seal, 
not ours, which God would affix to the intercourse 
between himself and our souls. If we, pastors, feel 
this deeply, and so perceive the design of God in 
bestowing baptism upon the children of his people, 
we shall convey to the hearts and minds of doubt¬ 
ing Christian parents, persuasive influences, which 
will succeed where arguments and appeals, based 
on mere proofs and obligations, have failed.” 

Mr. A. It is gratifying, now, to think that these 
things, and others like them, may be done without 
calling the children 11 members of the church.” Ex¬ 
cept discipline, it is obvious that everything in 
the way of watchfulness may be done for them as 
children of the church, which it would be proper, 
or even possible to do, if they were counted as 
members. 

Mr. R. I am aware of the analogy which many, 
who plead for the term members, seek to carry 
out between the Old and the New Testament 
church, making children members of the Christian 
church, because the church in ancient days in¬ 
cluded the children. But it seems to me that 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


247 


there is the same difference, now and formerly, be¬ 
tween the relation of children to the church, that 
there is between the relation of the whole reli¬ 
gious community, now and formerly, to the church 
of God. Formerly, all the members of the reli¬ 
gious community were, by their association under 
the same belief and worship, members of the 
church. To make the case with us parallel, our 
whole Christian community ought to be members 
of the church. No examination or discrimination 
should be used; to belong to the Christian com¬ 
munity should constitute church-membership. 

But this, we know, is not the case. God 
chooses now to make up his visible church not 
as formerly, but of those who give credible evi¬ 
dence of regeneration. They who worship with 
us, but do not profess to be Christians, aie hope¬ 
ful subjects of effort and prayer, whom we expect 
to receive hereafter to the visible church, on pro¬ 
fession of their faith. 

As the Christian chifrch is constituted differ¬ 
ently from the Jewish church, in this respect, dis¬ 
crimination and separation taking place between 
the members of a Christian congregation, have we 
not analogical reason to infer that it may also be 


248 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


thus with regard to children ?—who once, indeed, 
were members of the church of God, but, under 
the dispensation of the Spirit, they fall, with other 
unconverted members of the congregation, out of 
membership in the church. 

Mr. C. And yet, Br. R, the fall is not far, not 
hurtful. They are entitled to all the privileges, 
and they enjoy, or should enjoy, all the care and 
effort, which they would have under a different 
name. Only they do not come to the Lord’s 
Supper, as a matter of course, as they did to the 
Passover. 

Mr. S. Suppose that the legislature should in¬ 
corporate a fish-market, and cede to the proprie¬ 
tors fifteen square miles of the sea, within which 
they should have the privilege of taking fish. All 
the fish, within those fifteen miles of salt water, 
might be said to belong to the market; yet every 
one of them must be taken by hook and line ere 
his belonging to the market is of any practicable 
value. So the children off the church may be said 
to belong to the church, and are to constitute her 
chief resource. Rivers, and other distant or neigh¬ 
boring waters, would also send fish to that market, 
even if they were u far off; ” but it is from the 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


249 


bay at her doors that the market would derive her 
principal supplies. I do not see that children are 
members of the church, any further than those 
fishes belong to that market. Go there when you 
will, you see the stalls filled from those adjacent 
waters ; supplies are continually coming in; they 
are, in a sense, secured to the market by a cove¬ 
nant ; yet every fish is caught and handled, before 
he has anything like membership in that market, 
as really as though he swam and were caught in 
Baffin’s Bay ; — only he is now far more likely to 
be caught, and, in a sense, he already belongs to 
the market by the seal of the state. 

Mr. A., the reader of the sermon, not having 
much ideality, but much plain good sense, yet 
taking everything literally at first, and from his 
own honesty supposing that all figures of speech 
are to be cashed, as it were, for what they pur¬ 
port on their face, immediately challenged his 
brother to carry out the illustration. He asked 
him whether the constant passage, in and out, of 
fishes from and beyond the ceded fifteen miles, 
allowed of any resemblance, in the migratory 
creatures, to the children of the church, who are 
born and remain in the limits of the church, and 


250 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


are designated, individually, by virtue of their 
parentage. 

Mr. S. replied, that he did not mean to make a 
comparison to satisfy all the points of the case, 
and he hoped that the brethren would take it with 
due allowance. 

Mr. T. said that he had thought of this illustra¬ 
tion : “ All the young male children of the Levites 
might be said to be members of the priesthood. 
They certainly 1 belonged ’ to the priesthood. But 
no one of them could officiate till he had com¬ 
plied with certain conditions, nor if he was the 
subject of certain disabilities. He believed that 
the children of God’s people have, by the grace 
of God, as really a presumptive relation, by future 
membership, to the church of Christ, as an infant 
Levite boy had to sacred offices ; prayer, with 
the child, as well as for it, and faithful training, 
with a spiritual use of God’s appointed ordinances, 
constitute, he was persuaded, as good reason to 
hope that the child of a true believer will become 
a Christian, and that, too, early in life, as that the 
young son of Levi would minister in the levitical 
office.” 

11 0,” said Mr. B., “ how many cases there are 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


251 


which seem to disprove that. You will be obliged 
to reflect severely on some good people as parents, 
if you take so strong ground.” 

Mr. T. I do not despair of a child whose par¬ 
ents, or parent, has really covenanted with God 
for him, even though the child be long a wanderer 
from the fold. 

But it is the same now with Abraham’s spirit¬ 
ual seed as it was with his natural posterity, — 
neglect on the part of parents may work a forfeit¬ 
ure of the covenant promises; failure in family 
government, above all things, may frustrate every 
good influence which would otherwise have had a 
powerful effect in the conversion ot the child. 
The sons of Eli were not well governed; Esau 
was evidently of an undisciplined spirit. With 
regard to the children of several good men, in the 
Bible, it may be inferred, that the public engage¬ 
ments of the fathers hindered them from bestow¬ 
ing needful attention upon their sons. The only 
thing derogatory to the prophet Samuel, of which 
we are informed, is, that his sons were vile. With 
regard to certain cases of mournful wickedness, on 
the part of the children of eminently good men, it 
will be found that some of these men, occupying, 


252 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


perhaps, important stations of a public nature, 
such as the Christian ministry, were so engrossed 
in their public duties as not to give sufficient time 
and attention to their own families; which is a 
great shame and folly in any father of a family. 
In vain do we plead the covenant promises, if we 
neglect covenant duties. Grace is not hereditary 
in any sense that compromises our free agency; 
its subjects are born “ not of blood; ” there are 
many of the children of the kingdom who will be 
cast out into outer darkness, but among them, we 
may venture to say, will not be found those whose 
parents diligently sought their moral and religious 
culture in the exercise of a strict, judicious, affec¬ 
tionate, prayerful, watch and care, praying with 
them in secret, which, it seems to me, is, perhaps, 
the most powerful of all the means which a parent- 
can use to influence the moral and religious char¬ 
acter of a child. 

“ Is it not a mournful inconsistency,” said Mr. 
R., “ for us to be laboring and spending our 
strength and lives for the conversion and salva¬ 
tion of others, and not be equally zealous for 
the souls of the children whom God has given 
us?” 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


253 


Mr. C. Our habits of seclusion and study may 
operate to make us reserved, moody, and so repul¬ 
sive, to our own children. We ought to be inter¬ 
ested in their every-day affairs, and watch for 
opportunities to form their opinions, on moral as 
well as religious subjects, and be as kind and assid¬ 
uous to them, certainly, as we endeavor to be to 
other children. 

What more could these good men have said, with 
regard to the subject, had they concluded to adopt 
the terms u member” and “membership,” to ex¬ 
press the relation of children to the church ? They 
were not conscious of omitting or diminishing one 
privilege or blessing to which the children of the 
church are entitled; everything which the most 
strenuous advocates of “ infant church-member¬ 
ship,” so called, mention as accruing to them, they 
claimed in their behalf. Did infant church-member¬ 
ship admit to the Lord’s Supper, as it did to the 
passover, the children would now, with propriety, 
be said to be u members of the church.” But, inas¬ 
much as, under the Christian dispensation, they 
cannot come to the sacrament which distinguishes 
between the regenerate and the unregeneiate, 
22 


254 


THE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH. 


without a change of heart, they, and all those who 
are associated with the church in general acts of 
worship, and in Christian privileges, but are not 
converted persons, are, alike, under the Christian 
system, removed from outward membership—only, 
that the children of the church have privileges and 
promises which go far to increase the probability 
of their future church-membership, and directly to 
prepare them for that sacred relation. 

“ The Children of the Church,” then, is the 
sufficient name by which it seems desirable that 
the children of believers should be designated. 
And, instead of using the term “ church-member¬ 
ship,” applied to them, we shall include everything 
which is properly theirs, we shall lose nothing, we 
shall prevent great misunderstanding, and liability 
to perversion, by substituting the u Relation of- 
Baptized Children to the Church,” whenever we 
wish to express the peculiar and most precious 
connection which they hold, in the arrangements 
of divine grace, with the covenant people of GocL 


C&itgttr ®ent|j 


Maternal Associations. 


The mother, in her office, holds th^key 
Of the soul; and she it is who stamps the coin 
Of character, and makes the being, who would be a savage 
But for aer gentle cares, a Christian man. 

— Then, crown her Queen o’ the world. 

Old Plat. 

The pastors now adjourned their session under 
the maples, and repaired to the room where their 
wives were sitting. The ladies had finished their 
deliberations, and had been strolling in the woods. 
But they, too, had been engaged, like their hus¬ 
bands, in conversation about their children, and 
the children of the church. “ Maternal Associa¬ 
tions” had been the chief topic. They had discussed 
their advantages, and had considered objections to 
them. The result was, that they had unanimously 
agreed to promote such associations in their re¬ 
spective churches. Their influence on young 
mothers, in helping them to train their children. 


256 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


affording them the results of experience gained 
by others; the privilege of stating difficult and 
trying cases for advice, of praying together for 
their children, of having those mothers, during the 
intervals of their monthly meetings, pray for the 
children of their sisters, and sometimes, specially 
for a child in peculiar need of prayer, commended 
these associations to their judgment and affections. 
One lady referred to the possible disclosure of 
family secrets, at such meetings, which it was un¬ 
pleasant to hear, and to the undesirableness of 
revealing the faults of a child. They agreed that 
these things should never be done, and that it 
was easy to avoid them by employing a friend, if 
necessary, to state the case, hypothetically, so as 
to conceal its connection with any member of the 
circle. The ladies had gone so far as to adopt a 
little manual, for their respective circles, which 
they submitted to their husbands for criticism. 
One of the gentlemen read it, as follows r 


“ MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

u Maternal Associations are designed for mutual 
instruction and consultation, in connection with 
united prayer. Subjects for reading and discus 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


257 


sion relate chiefly to the physical, mental, moral, 
and religious training of children. Some individ¬ 
ual is usually prepared at each meeting to give 
method and tone to the conversation, which might 
otherwise become desultory. The faults of chil¬ 
dren who are known to the members are not made 
the subject of remark; but cases of difficulty are 
so presented as to avoid individual exposure. As¬ 
sociations conducted on these principles are found 
to be greatly beneficial. 

“CONSTITUTION OF-CHURCH MATERNAL ASSOCIATION. 

11 Impressed with a sense of our entire depend¬ 
ence upon the Holy Spirit to aid us in training up 
our children in the way they should go, and hoping 
to obtain the blessing of such as fear the Lord and 
speak often to one another, w~e, the subscribers, 
do unitedly pledge ourselves to meet at stated 
seasons for prayer and mutual counsel in. refer¬ 
ence to our maternal duties and responsibilities. 
With a view to this object, we adopt the following 
constitution: 

“ Article I. This circle shall be called the 

‘Maternal Association of- Church; 7 any 

member of which, sustaining the maternal relation. 

22 * 




258 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


may become a member by subscribing this consti 
tution. Other individuals, sustaining the same 
relation, may be admitted to membership by a vote 
of two thirds of the members present. 

“ Art. II. The monthly meetings of this Asso¬ 
ciation shall be held on the-of the month. 

“ Art. III. The quarterly meetings in January, 
April, July, and October, shall be held on the last 
Wednesday of the month, when the members shall 
be allowed to bring to the place of meeting such 
of their children as may be under the age of twelve 
years, and they shall be considered members of the 
Association. The exercises at these meetings 
shall be such as shall seem best calculated to in¬ 
struct the minds and interest the feelings of the 
children who may be present. 

“ Art. IY. At each quarterly meeting there shall 
be a small contribution by the children for benevo¬ 
lent purposes. 

“ Art. V . The time appropriated for each meet¬ 
ing shall not exceed one hour and a half, and shall 
be exclusively devoted to the object of the Asso¬ 
ciation. Every monthly meeting shall be opened 
by prayer and reading a portion of Scripture, 
which may be followed by reading such other mat- 



MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


259 


ter as relates to the interests of the Association, 
or by conversation tending to promote maternal 
faithfulness and piety. These exercises may be 
interspersed with singing the songs of Zion, and 
with humble and importunate prayer, that God 
would glorify himself in the early conversion of 
the children of the Association, that they may be¬ 
come eminently useful in the church of Christ. It 
is desirable that the last meeting in the year be 
spent in reading the Scriptures and in prayer. 

“Art. VI. Every member of the Association 
shall be considered as sacredly bound to pray for 
her children daily, and with them as often as cir¬ 
cumstanced will permit; and to give them from 
time to time the best religious instruction of which 
she is capable. 

“ Art. VII. It shall be the duty of every mem¬ 
ber to qualify herself, by daily reading, prayer, 
and self-discipline, to discharge faithfully the ar¬ 
duous duties of a Christian mother; and she shall 
be requested to give with freedom such hints up¬ 
on the various subjects brought before the Asso¬ 
ciation as her own observation and experience may 
suggest. 

“ Art. VIII. When any mother is removed by 


260 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


death, it shall be the special duty of the Associa^ 
tion to regard with peculiar interest the spiritual 
welfare of her children, and to evince this interest 
by a continued remembrance of them in their 
prayers, by inviting them to attend quarterly 
meetings, and by such tokens of sympathy and 
kindness as their circumstances may render 
proper. 

“Art. IX. Every child, upon leaving the Asso¬ 
ciation, at the prescribed age, shall receive a book 
from the mothers, as a token of their affection, to 
be accompanied by a letter, expressive of the 
deep interest felt in their temporal and spiritual 
welfare. 

“ Art. X. The officers of the Association shall 
be a ‘ First Directress/ a ‘ Second Directress/ a 
1 Secretary/ and a 1 Corresponding Secretary/ 
who shall be appointed annually in September. 

“ Art. XI. The duty of the First Directress 
shall be to preside at all meetings, call upon the 
members for devotional exercises, and regulate 
the reading. In the absence of the First Direc¬ 
tress, these duties shall devolve upon the Second 
Directress. 

u Art. XII. It shall be the duty of the Secre- 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


261 


tary to register the names of the members, and of 
their children, and to supply each of the mothers 
with a list of the same, together with a copy of 
the constitution. She shall also keep a record of 
the proceedings of each meeting, and, as far as 
may be convenient, of the topic discussed, and of 
the remarks elicited by it. This record shall be 
read at the commencement of the next subsequent 
meeting. She shall likewise receive the contri¬ 
butions of the children, keep an account of the 
same, and pay it according to the vote of the As¬ 
sociation. 

“ Art. XIII. It shall be the duty of the Corre¬ 
sponding Secretary to write the letters addressed 
to the children upon leaving the Association, to 
conduct the general correspondence, receive the 
contributions from the mothers, and purchase the 
books to be given to the children. 

“Art. XIY. Any article of this constitution 
may be amended by a majority of the members 
present at any annual meeting. 

“ It is recommended to the members of the Asso¬ 
ciation to observe the anniversary of the birth of 
each child in special prayer, with particular refer¬ 
ence to that child. May He who giveth liberally, 


262 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


and upbraideth nct ; ever preside in our meetings 
and grant unto each of us a teachable, affection¬ 
ate, and humble temper, that no root of bitterness 
may spring up to prevent our improvement, or 
interrupt our devotions. The promise is to us 
and to our children; we have publicly given them 
up to God; his holy name has been pronounced 
over them ; let us see to it that we do not cause 
this sacred name to be treated with contempt. 
May Christ put his own spirit within us, that our 
children may never have occasion to say, 

1 What do ye more than others ? ’ ” 

No criticism was made upon this production, 
but the pastors commended it, and rejoiced in the 
good which an increased attention to the subject 
would be sure to accomplish. They promised to 
preach on the subject, and, in their pastoral visits, 
to encourage mothers in the churches to join the 
Associations. 

One of the ladies said that she had a paper, 
which she had thought best to read, if the com¬ 
pany pleased, when they were all together, and 
she had therefore reserved it until the gentlemen 


came m. 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


263 


It was a paper in the handwriting of a Chris¬ 
tian friend, which was found in her copy of the 
1 Articles and Covenant ” of her church, after her 
decease. This lady had been in the habit, as it 
seemed, of reading over those articles and the cov¬ 
enant, on the Sabbath when the Lord’s Supper 
was to be administered; and the religious educa¬ 
tion of her children, being identified with her 
most sacred thoughts and moments, she read these 
questions at the same time. 

The lady who read them said that it was pro¬ 
posed by some to append them to the little manual 
already presented for Maternal Associations. 

11 QUESTIONS TO BE THOUGHT UPON. 

11 1. Have I so prayed for my children as that 
my prayer produced an effect upon myself? 

11 2. Have I realized that to train my children for 
usefulness and heaven is probably the chief duty 
God requires of me ? 

“ 3. Have I realized that, if I cannot eradicate 
an evil habit, probably no one else can or will? 

“ 4. Have I granted to-day, from indulgence, 
what I denied yesterday from principle ? 


264 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


“ 5. Have I yielded to importunity in altering a 
decision deliberately made ? 

“ 6. Have I punished the beginning of an evil 
habit ? 

“7. Have I suffered the indulgence of an evil 
habit through sloth or discouragement ? 

“ 8. Have calmness and seriousness marked my 
looks, tones, and voice, when inflicting punish¬ 
ment ? 

“9. Was my convenience, or the guilt of the 
child, the measure of its punishment ? 

“ 10. Has punishment been sufficiently private, 
and have I tried to affect the mind more than, the 
body ? 

“11. Do my children see in me a self-command 
which is the effect of principle ? 

“ 12. Have I, in my plans, my heart, and con¬ 
duct, sought first for my children the kingdom of 
God? 

“ 13. Have I commended God to my children, 
and my children to God ? 

“ 14. Have I aimed to govern my children on the 
same principle and in the same spirit which God 
adopts in the government of his creatures ? 

11 15. Have I, in pursuance of the above resolu- 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


265 


tion, acted in the spirit of that prayer in God’s 
word, 1 Them that honor me, I will honor, and they 
that despise me shall be lightly esteemed’? 

“ 16. Have I aimed to secure the love and obedi¬ 
ence of my children ? 

“17. Have I remembered that it is full time to 
make a child obey when it knows enough to dis¬ 
obey? 

“18. Do I realize that the fulfilment of cove¬ 
nant promises is dependent on my fidelity ? Gen. 
18: 19. 

“ 19. Have these resolutions been undertaken 
in the strength of Christ, remembering 1 1 can do 
all things through Christ which strengtheneth 
me’ ? 

“20. Have I labored to convince my child that 
its true character is formed by its thoughts and 
affections ? 

“21. Do I daily realize that each of my children 
is a shapeless piece of marble, capable, through 
my instrumentality, of being moulded into an 
ornament for the palace of the King of kings ? 

“ 22. Do I, by my conversation and actions, 
teach my children that character, and not wealth 
or connexions, constitutes respectability? 

23 


266 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


“23. Do I realize what circumstances are edu¬ 
cating my children; — my conversation, my pur¬ 
suits, my likings, and dislikings ? 

“ 24. Do I realize that the most important book 
a child can and does read, is its parents’ daily de¬ 
portment and example ? 

“ 25. Do my children feel they can do what they 
like, or that they must do what they are com¬ 
manded ? 

“ 26. Have I felt that a timid child is in great 
danger of being insincere ? 

“ 27. Do I, as an antidote to timidity, cultivate 
the fear of God and self-respect ? 

“ 28. Do I realize that I must meet each child at 
the judgment-seat, and hear from it what my 
influence over it has been as a mother ? 

“ 29. Do I realize that it is in my power to exert 
such an influence that Christ shall see in each the 
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied ? 

“30. Do I realize that my children will obey 
God much as they do me ? 

“31. Do I impress on my children that little 
faults in Christian families may be as dangerous to 
the soul, and as evil in their tendencies, as larger 
faults where there is no Christian education ? 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


267 


li 32. D i> I realize the danger of retarding or 
hindering the work of the Holy Spirit, by evil 
habits, worldly pursuits, or companions ? 

“33. Do I make each child feel that it has a 
work to do, and that it is its duty and happiness 
to do that work well ? ” 

The paper having been read, one of the pastors 
stated that he knew the lady who had been re¬ 
ferred to; that she died leaving a large family of 
children, all of whom, he had learned, were now 
members of the church of Christ except the young¬ 
est, of tender age. He hoped that the Questions 
would be printed in the Manual for the Maternal 
Associations. 

“I was struck with the remark in some old 
writer,’ 7 said Mr. R., “ that 1 God had clothed the 
prayers of parents with special authority.’ It 
made me think that, as the Saviour promised the 
apostles, for their necessary assurance and com¬ 
fort, that they should always be heard in their 
requests, while engaged in establishing the new 
religion, so parents are encouraged to think, since 
family religion, the transmission of piety by pa¬ 
rental influence, is so important, in the view of 


268 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


God, that they will have special regard paid to all 
their petitions for aid, as God’s vicegerents in 
their families.” 

But the repast was now ready. It was a goodly 
sight, when that company of ministerial friends and 
their wives were sitting round that table. “ Be¬ 
hold, how good and how pleasant it is for breth¬ 
ren to dwell together in unity.” There is a mys¬ 
terious charm in eating together. It is well 
known that associations designed for social ac¬ 
quaintance and conversation, have, very generally, 
fallen to pieces soon after the relinquishment of 
the repast. Our great ordinance, for the commun¬ 
ion of saints, is appointed to be at a table, where 
it originated. The flow of kind feeling, which 
had prevailed during the afternoon among these 
friends, seemed now to be in full tide, and many 
were the entertaining and gratifying things which 
were there said and done. All possible ways in 
which the products of an acre or two of well-culti¬ 
vated land could be prepared to tempt the appetite, 
were there. Br. S. was informed that those fried 
fishes swam in Acushnit brook no longer ago than 
when he was rehearsing his parable of the fishes. 
Ths strawberries had been kept on the vines a 


MATERNAL ASSOCIATIONS. 


269 


day or two, for the occasion, and were in perfec¬ 
tion. Eggs figured on the table in every shape into 
which those most convertible things could turn 
themselves; and, being praised, the lady of the 
house said that she must tell them of Ralph, a boy 
of fourteen, whom her husband had taken to look 
after his horse and garden, giving him his tuition 
in Latin and other branches, for his services. 
Ralph was a great amateur in fowls and eggs. 
No sooner did a hen cackle, but he resorted to the 
nest, and, with his lead-pencil, wrote the day of 
the month upon the egg. The lady rung her 
table-bell, and called him to her, telling him to 
bring his egg-basket. He brought in an open¬ 
work, red osier basket, with a dozen and a half 
of eggs in it, laid on cotton batting, each egg as 
duly inscribed as the specimens of a mineralogist. 
Ralph was highly praised. 

“I suppose you think, my son / 7 said Mr. R., 
“ that an egg, like reputation, should be abovo 
suspicion . 77 

“ It is best to be safe, sir , 77 said he. 

“ Ralph , 77 said Mr. S., “ do you know who bap¬ 
tized you ? 77 

“You baptized me yourself, sir . 77 

23 * 


270 


MINISTERS* CHILDREN. 


“Do you remember, Ralph, how you reached 
out your hands, at that time, and took my hand, 
and put my finger into your mouth, and tried to 
bite it with your little, new, sharp teeth ? ’* 

Ralph blushed, and smiled. 

“You do not remember it, Ralph. Well, I do ; 
and now, Ralph, you must come and preach your 
first sermon in my pulpit.” 

“ It will be a long time first, sir,’* said Ralph. 

“Your dear mother told me, when she was sick, 
that she thought she left you in the temple, like 
Samuel, when she offered you up in baptism.** 

“ Be a good boy, Ralph,** said another of the 
pastors; “ we will all be your friends.** He re¬ 
treated slowly, feeling not so much alone in the 
world. 

The company did not separate till two of their 
number had led in prayer, seeking, especially, the 
blessing of God upon their own children, and that 
they, as parents and ministers, might be warned 
by the awful fate of the sons of Aaron and of Eli, 
and not feel that the ministerial office gave them 
a prescriptive right to the blessings of grace for 
their children, but rather made them liable to 
prominent exposure and calamity, if they suffered 


THE ADJOURNMENT. 


271 


public duties to interfere with that first, great 
ordinance of God, family religion. 

The horses were now coming to the door. Fare¬ 
wells and good wishes were intermingled, the joy¬ 
ous laugh at some pleasantry or sally of wit made 
the house and yard alive for some time, the pastors 
had arranged their exchanges for several months 
to come, visits and excursions were planned and 
agreed upon, till one by one the vehicles departed, 
leaving the parsonage silent, while its occupants 
sat down to rest a while, and talk over the events 
of the day, in their pleasant window under the 
honeysuckle. 





(35l£b£ttt^. 



Baptism op the Sick Wife and her Children. 

In having all things, and not Thee, what have I ? 

Not having Thee, what have my labors got ? 

Let me enjoy but Thee, what further crave I ? 

And having Thee alone, what have I not ? 

I wish nor sea, nor land 5 nor would I be 
Possessed of heaven, heaven unpossessed of Thee. 


Quarles. — Emblems.” 


He whom God chooseth, out of doubt doth well. 
What they that choose their God do, who can tell ? 


Lord Brooke (London, 1633). — “ Mustapha.” 


A lady with whom we spent a summer at a 
watering-place, and who was then an invalid, and 
with whom we had formed an intimate acquaint¬ 
ance, was now very sick, with cancerous affec¬ 
tions, which threatened to end her life at no dis¬ 
tant period. 

She had become established in the Christian 
faith, during her illness, and, being a woman of 
great intelligence and cultivation, it was instruct¬ 


ive to be in her company. Many a lesson had I 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE, ETC. 273 

learned from her, in the freshness an£ ardor of her 
new discoveries as a Christian, the old themes of 
religions experience being translated by her re¬ 
newed heart, and discriminating mind, into forms 
that made them almost new, because they were so 
vivid. She was fast ripening for heaven; she had 
looked in, and her face shone as she turned to 
speak with us. 

A lady, a friend of hers from a distance, was 
visiting us, and, knowing that she was sick, re¬ 
quested me. to call with her upon the invalid. 
Hearing that I was in the parlor, she sent for me 
to come up and sit with her and my friend, after 
they had seen each other a little while. She was 
in her easy-chair, able to converse, and was calm 
and happy. 

The door opened suddenly, as we were talking, 
and in rushed a little boy of about six years, his 
cap in his hand, a pretty green cloth sack buttoned 
close about him, his boots* pulled over his pants to 
his knees, and his face glowing with health and 
from the cold air. 

“ 0, mother ! ” said he, before he quite saw us, 
— and then he checked himself; but, being en¬ 
couraged to proceed, after making his salutations, 


274 


BAPTISM OP THE SICK WIFE 


he said, in a more subdued tone, holding up a 
great red apple, “ See what the man, where we buy 
our things, sent you, mother. He called me to 
him, and said, ‘ Give that to your mother, and tell 
her it will be first-rate roasted.’ ” 

As the mother smelt of it, and praised it, with 
her thanks, the boy hung round her chair, and 
wished to say something. 

“ Well, what is it, my son ? ” 

He spoke loud enough for us to hear, with his 
eyes glancing occasionally at us, to be sure that 
we were not too intently looking at him, and, with 
his arm resting in his mother’s lap, he said : 

“Do, please, let me go with my sled on the 
pond. It is real thick, mother. Gustavus says 
that last evening it was as thick as his big diction¬ 
ary, and you know how cold it was last night, 
mother. Please let me go; I won’t get in; be¬ 
sides, if I do, it is n’t deep — not more than up to 
there; see here, mother! ” putting his little mit- 
tened hand, with the palm down, as high as his 
waist. 

His mother looked troubled, and knew not what 
to say to him, but remarked to us, “ 0, if I were 
well, and about the house, I could divert him from 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


* 275 


his wish; but/’ said she to him, 11 if you will ask 
Gustavus to take care of you, and bring you home 
when he comes, you may go.” 

OIF he went, making fewer steps than there were 
stairs, and we heard his merry voice without, an¬ 
nouncing his liberty. 

“ Here I am,” said she to us, “ with those three 
children, who come horae from school twice a day, 
and there is no mother below to receive them. 
With the best of help, things sometimes go wrong, 
and the young woman who sews for me cannot, of 
course, do for them what a mother could. Noth¬ 
ing has tried my patience, in suffering, more than 
to hear the door open, and my children come in 
frojn school, and to feel that I am separated from 
them, within hearing, while I cannot reach them.” 

She controlled her feelings, and helped herself 
to conceal them by turning to rock a cradle which 
stood behind her, though we perceived no need 
of her doing so; yet we must all distrust our own 
eafs in comparison with a mother’s. The child 
was a boy seven months old. 

“ Do you know,” said she to me, “that I am 
thinking of joining your church ? I have had a 
very trying visit from my own pastor, and he sa^s 


276 ‘ 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


that I am too sick to be baptized by immersion, 
and that it is, therefore, too late for me to receive 
Christian baptism. It is not necessary, he says, in 
order to being accepted of God. I was born and 
brought up in that communion, and never thought 
much of the subject of baptism till I hoped that I 
began to love God, here in my sick-room. If bap¬ 
tism is so important as our ministers tell us it is, 
in their preaching and by their practice, — for you 
know how important they deem it, in times of re¬ 
ligious attention, to havb people baptized in our 
way, — I cannot see why it is not important to me. 
If it is man’s ordinance, and merely for an effect 
on others, very well; but if God has anything to 
do in it, I feel that I need it as much as though I 
were in health. So my husband asked your minis¬ 
ter to come and see me, and he did; and he is to 
baptize me and my children on Saturday afternoon 
and administer the Lord’s Supper to me aftei 
church the next day.” 

I asked her what ground of objection her pastoi 
had in her case. 

Mrs , P. My minister tells me it is superstition 
to be baptized on a sick-bed, and that they are 
careful not to encourage such Romish practices. 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


277 


“ But, 0,” I said to him, “ Mr. Dow, I am afraid it 
is because your form of baptism will not allow you 
to baptize the sick and dying, so you make a vir¬ 
tue of necessity.” He colored a little, but said, 
pleasantly, though solemnly, “We see how impor¬ 
tant it is, Mrs. Peirce, to attend to the subject of 
religion in health, when we can confess Christ be¬ 
fore men, and follow the Saviour, and be buried in 
baptism with him.” 

That made me weep, though perhaps it was be¬ 
cause I was weak; but I said, “ God is more mer¬ 
ciful than that, Mr. Dow. I know that I have neg¬ 
lected religion too long, but God has brought me 
to him, by affliction, and now I do not believe that 
the seals of his grace are of such a nature that 
they cannot be applied to people in my condition. 
I feel the need of those seals, not as my profession 
to God, but as his professions of love to me. I 
believe you are wrong, Mr. Dow. You seem to 
make baptism our act toward God, chiefly; now I 
take a different view of it. My sick and weak 
condition makes me feel that in being baptized, and 
in receiving the Lord’s Supper, I submit myself to 
God’s hand of love, and take from him infinitely 
more than I give him.” — “ 0, that is rather a Rom 
24 


278 


BAPTISM OP THE SICK WIFE 


ish view of ordinances,” said lie, smiling.— ‘‘No,” 
said I, “Mr. Dow, I am not passive in the ordi¬ 
nances, any more than in regeneration; my whole 
soul is active in receiving their influences. But 
there is something done for us in the ordinances, 
as there is something done for us in regeneration, 
while we actively repent and belieVe. Are you 
not so afraid of Romanism, and of ‘ sacramental 
grace/ that you go to an opposite extreme ? for it 
seems to me a morbid state of feeling. I wish for 
no extreme unction, but I do believe that, in being 
baptized, and in receiving the Lord’s Supper, some¬ 
thing more is done for us than helping us to take 
up and offer to God something on the little needle¬ 
points of our poor feelings. I should feel, in be¬ 
ing baptized, that God 'has adopted me, and not 
merely I him; and, in the Lord’s Supper, that it is 
more for Christ to give me his body and blood, 
than for me to give him my poor affections.” He 
asked me if I had not been reading the Oxford 
Tracts. I told him that I read the Oxford Tracts, 
and other Puseyite publications, in their day, *and 
that I saw through their errors, and had no sym¬ 
pathy with their views. 

But I told him I was satisfied that the human 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


279 


mind, in th it development, was craving something 
more supernatural in religious ordinances, to make 
the impression that the hand of God is in them, 
and not that we are the principal party. So, in¬ 
stead of taking enlightened, spiritual views of or¬ 
dinances, the Tractarians sought to improve the 
quality, by multiplying the quantity, of forms ; and 
others are following them into the Roman Catholic 
church in the same way. 

“ There always seemed to me,” she said, “ to be 
a grain of truth in every great error. Is it not so? 
Even among the Brahmins of the East, and among 
savages, each superstition, and every lie, retains 
the fossils of some dead truth. When a new error 
breaks out among us, I feel that the human mind 
is tossing itself, and reaching after something be¬ 
yond its experience. It seems to me,” she contin¬ 
ued, “ that, at such times, it is x good for ministers 
and Christians to reexamine their mode of stating 
the truths of the Bible, to see how far they can 
properly go to meet the new development, and, by 
preiching the truth better, intercept it. The cold, 
barren view, which many take of ordinances, makes 
some people hanker after forms and ceremonies; 
whereas, if we would present baptism and the 


280 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


Lord’s Supper as divine acts toward us, we might 
meet the instinctive wants of many, and hold them 
to the side of truth. 

“ But I told Mr. Dow that I was no formalist, nor 
did I believe in compromising the truth to win 
errorists. Clear, faithful, strict doctrinal views 
commend themselves to men’s consciences.” 

I came near saying to the good lady, that, if she 
were able to talk in such a strain, and to say so 
much to her minister, he, surely, could not have 
deemed her so enfeebled in mind as to be incapac 
itated for admission to the Christian church. 

“I told him, also,” she added, “I was satisfied that 
his unvarying mode of baptism was not ordained by 
Him who sent the Gospel to every creature.—Why, 
said I, Mr. Dow, what do you make of the apostles’ 
baptizing the jailer, ‘at the same hour of the night,’ 
and ‘ before it was day ? ’ It could not have been 
for any public effect. What need to have .it done 
just then? Was it superstitious and Bomish? No; 
it was to comfort the soul of the poor, trembling 
corfvert, with a sense of God’s love to him. How 
it must have soothed and cheered him to receive 
God’s hand of love in that ordinance, before he 
himself fully knew what the making of a Christian 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


281 


profession implied ! I want that same hand of love 
here, in my prison of a sick-chamber.— And, I never 
thought of it much before, but, I said then, it 
seemed so clear to me that they would not have 
gone to all the trouble, that night, and in the 
prison-house, and after the terrors of the earth¬ 
quake, to put a whole family into bathing-vessels. 
To take people from sleep, ordinarily, and immerse 
them in water, would be a singular act; much more 
when they are weak and faint, as the jailer’s family 
must have been, from fear and excitement. In my 
own case, I could not be immersed, even at home; 
it would probably cost me my life. Sprinkling 
came to me as so sweetly harmonious, in that scene 
of the jailer’s baptism, that I believed it to be the 
apostolic mode of baptizing, and I told Mr. D. that 
1 should imitate the jailer ; and that I should send 
for a minister who could imitate Paul and.Silas.” 

“ But,” said I, " what brought you to believe in 
the propriety of baptizing your children ? ” 

Mrs. P. Your minister enlightened me on that 
subject. I told him my heart yearned to have it 
done ; for I took the same view of it which I 
have mentioned with regard to my own baptism - - 
that it is something which God does, to and for 
24 * 


282 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


the children, primarily, and it is not merely a 
human act. He said that it was like laying u a 
penal bond” on children, to baptize them, and 
oblige them to do or be anything without their 
consent. 0, how many such “ penal bonds ” I have 
laid on my children, already ! — the more the bet¬ 
ter, I told him. “A penal bond” to love and serve 
God! — I mean to add my dying charge to it, and 
make it as binding as I can. How imperfect such 
a view of baptism is ! It is God coming to us with 
his seal, not we coming with our own invention to 
him. I wished to have God enter into a covenant 
with me, who hope I love him, to be a God to my 
children forever. I felt that I could die in peace, 
if I might feel some assurance of this ,* and, it 
seemed to me that, to have a sign and seal of it 
from God himself would make me perfectly happy. 

She handed me a book, which her pastor had lent 
her, and she asked me to read a passage, to which 
she pointed. It was an argument against baptism 
in sickness. Speaking of the penitent thief, the 
writer says: 

u The Saviour did not, as a Papist would have 
done, command some of the women, that stood by 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


283 


bewailing, to fetch a little water ; nor the beloved 
disciple to asperse the quivering penitent/’ 

Remembering the view which the mother of lit¬ 
tle Philip took of such things, I merely said, that the 
writer seemed to me to asperse a large part of the 
Protestant world, under the name, Papist. Chris¬ 
tian baptism, I remarked, had not been instituted 
when the Saviour and the thief were on the cross. 

I received an invitation from the husband, a 
day or two after, to be present at the baptism of 
his wife and children. The husband was not pro¬ 
fessedly, nor in his own view, a regenerate man, 
but one of the best of husbands and fathers, des¬ 
titute, however, of the one thing needful. 

The wife had on a loose cashmere dressing- 
gown, but was sitting in bed for greater support 
and comfort. 

The pastor read to her the articles and covenant 
of the church. She assented to them ; whereupon, 
at his request, I laid the church-book of signatures 
before her, gave her a pen full of ink, and she 
wrote her name among the professed followers of 
the Lamb. 

The pastor then declared her to be admitted, by 
vote of the church, into full communion and fel- 


284 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


lowship, after she should have received the ordi¬ 
nance of baptism. 

He rose, and read, “ And Jesus came unto them, 
and spake, saying, All power is given unto me in 
heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach 
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you; and lo, I am with you 
alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” 

He continued: “My dear Mrs. Peirce, God is 
your God. He will have his name written upon 
you, by its being called over you, with the use of 
his own appointed sign and seal of baptism. The 
name in which he has chosen thus to appear to 
you, is not God Almighty, nor his name Jehovah; 
but those names which redemption has brought to 
view, and which impress upon us the acts of re¬ 
deeming grace and love. Do not feel, chiefly, that 
you give yourself up to God in this transaction, 
though this, of course, you do, and it is essential 
that you do so ; but feel that the Father, Son, and 
Spirit, come to you, and own you in the covenant 
of redemption, in consequence of your accepting 
Christ by faith, which itself, also, is the gift of 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


285 


God. Professing repentance of your sins, and 
faith in the Lord Jesus, you are now to receive, 
from the Sacred Three, a sign and seal, confirming 
to you all the promises of grace, adopting you as 
a member of the whole family in heaven and earth, 
and engaging God to be your God. 

11 And now, as you are, yourself, a child of God, 
your children God adopts to be, in a peculiar sense, 
his. This is the method of his love from the be¬ 
ginning. Had Adam remained upright, doubtless 
his children would have been confirmed in their 
uprightness ; but, inasmuch as he fell, and, by his 
disobedience, they were made sinners, God rees¬ 
tablished his covenant with Abraham as the father 
of all believers, under a new church-organization, 
to the end of time, promising to be the God of a 
believer’s child.” 

He then read this hymn; and certain expres¬ 
sions in it never struck me with such force and 
sweetness as in that baptismal scene: 

“ How large the promise, how divine, 

To Abraham and his seed ; 

I ’ll be a God to thee and thine. 

Supplying all their need. 


286 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


“ The words of his extensive love 
From age to age endure ; 

The angel of the covenant proves, 
And seals, the blessing sure. 

** Jesus the ancient faith confirms 
To our great fathers given ; 

He takes young children to his arms. 
And calls them heirs of heaven. 


“ Our God, how faithful are his ways ! 

His love endures the same ; 

Nor from the promise of his grace 
Blots out the children’s name.” 

“ And now,” said he, “ as you belong to the 
church of Christ, so your children, in a certain 
sense, and that a very important and precious 
sense, belong to the church. Your little, uncon¬ 
scious babe belongs, in that sense, to the church. 
You will not, you cannot, misunderstand me. 
These are the children of a child of God. All 
your brethren and sisters in Christ count them 
in their great family circle. They covenant with 
you to pray for them, to watch for their good, and 
to rejoice in it, to provide means for their spiritual 
prosperity, and to seek their salvation. But, above 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


287 


all, God will ever have special regard to them as 
the children of his dear child. 

11 Receive now,” said he, “ the divine ordinance 
of baptism, whereby God signifies to you, and 
seals, all that is implied in being your God.” 

He drew near the bed, with a silver bowl, from 
which he sprinkled water upon the head and fore¬ 
head of the dear believer, whose countenance 
expressed the peace of receiving, rather than the 
effort of giving, while her lips moved now and 
then during the quiet scene. 

They brought Edward, the first-born, and he 
stood, with his hand in his mother’s hand, and was 
baptized. There were almost tears enough shed 
by us for his baptism, had tears been needed. 
Lucy came next, and then the rosy-cheeked Roger, 
who had been persuaded to leave his new sled, a 
little while, that Saturday afternoon. 

But now the little boy was coming in from his 
cradle. His mother raised herself in the bed, and 
received him in her arms. He had been weaned, 
but, on coming to his mother, he began to make 
some solicitations, which, beautiful and affecting 
though they were, some of us endeavored not to 
see, but turned to smell of some violets, and to 


288 BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 

open a book of engravings. The mother smiled 
and held him off, but immediately put two fingers, 
one on each eye, and wept; — the marriage-ring 
on one of those fingers, — ah, me ! how had the 
finger shrunk away from it. The nurse took the 
# child and diverted its attention. The husband sat 
far on the bed, put one arm under the pillow that 
supported his wife, and held her hand in his. 
Recollections and anticipations, we knew, were 
thronging, unbidden, into that mother’s soul. She 
had been reminded of fountains of love sealed up, 
and yet there were opening within her living 
fountains of water. She grew calm, beckoned for 
a little book on the table, opened it, and pointed 
her husband to a stanza, which she had marked, 
and he read it for her : — 

“ When I can trust my all with God, 

In trial’s painful hour. 

Bow all resigned beneath his rod. 

And bless his sparing power ; 

A joy springs up amid distress, 

A fountain in the wilderness.” 


That was her profession of religion, and her 
signal to the pastor to proceed. The father took 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


289 


the little boy in his arms, held him over the bed, 
before his wife; the pastor reached from the other 
side, and baptized Walter, in the name of the cov¬ 
enant-keeping God. The father held the child for 
the mother’s kiss, and then took him away, fearing 
a repetition of the previous scene. But the wife 
drew her husband back to her, and left a kiss on 
his own cheek, amidst his tears. 

“ And now,” said the pastor, after prayer, u God 
has been in this place, and has himself applied to 
you and your children the seal of his everlasting 
covenant. Do not make your faith in it to depend 
on the degree of equanimity or vividness in your 
feelings ; but remember what Elizabeth said to 
• Mary : 1 And blessed is she that believeth, for 
there shall be a performance of those things which 
were told her from the Lord.’ ” 

u 0,” said Mrs. P., 11 is it possible that I live to 
see this day ? I almost forget my sickness, my 
separation from my husband and children, in the 
thought that God is my covenant God, and the 
God of my children. My baptism is to me a visi¬ 
ble writing and seal from God; and my children’s 
baptism is the same. I always used to think of 
baptism merely as a profession on our part. 0, 
25 


290 


BAPTISM OF THE .SICK WIFE 


how much more there is in it, besides that! It is 
God’s covenant and testimony toward me. Blessed 
names!” said she, soliloquizing, — “Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost! sweet society of the Godhead! 
They come together; they are like the three that 
came to Abraham’s tent. Each has his precious 
gift and influence for my soul. Why was I al¬ 
lowed to see this day, and enjoy this ? ” 

The pastor said, “ This is just one of those 
things which make us say, 1 His goodness is un¬ 
searchable.’ There seems to be no way of ac¬ 
counting for this rich, free, sovereign love.” 

“ Can I fear,” said she, “ to leave my children in 
such hands ? No. God of Abraham ! 1 thou hast 
been our dwelling-place in all generations.’ Faith¬ 
ful God ! 1 a God to thee and thy seed after thee; ’ 
what power the seal of the covenant has to make 
you believe it; yes, and seemingly to hear it read 
to you. Do speak to all our dear mothers, and 
tell them in health to make far more, than many 
do, of baptism for their children.” 

“ And have you no blessing for me ? ” said the 
husband, as the pastor rose to go. 

u Dear sir,” said the pastor, “ they seem to have 
left you alone.” 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


, 291 

He had been sitting, somewhat out of sight, 
at the foot of the bedstead; but, it was evident, 
from several signs, that his feelings were deeply 
moved. 

The pastor took his arm, and, bidding the wife 
an affectionate hut hasty adieu, he went with him 
to the sitting-room below. 

“ I need no arguments,” said the husband, “ to 
satisfy me, further, that you are right. You have 
a system of religion which, I see, is good for 
everything, and for everybody, and for all times, 
and places, and circumstances. Sir, I have been 
sceptical ; but I must confess that a religion 
which can come into a family, like mine, and do 
what it has done, through you, sir, to mine, and 
to me, must be from God. Sir, I shall always 
respect our pastor for his consistency with his 
principles, and for many other reasons ; but I pre¬ 
fer principles like yours, which can go to the 
sick and dying, and to little children whose 
mother-” 

Here he began to weep. The pastor said, “ To 
take a mother from a young family of children, like 
yours, Mr. Peirce, is just the thing which we 



292 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


should prevent, could we have the ordering of 
affairs.” 

“ I feel,” said Mr. P., “ that God’s hand is upon 
me. Passages from the Bible, which I learned at 
sea, from love to my mother, come to me now. 
She put a Bible in a box, and covered it up with a 
dozen pairs of woollen hose, knit with her own 
hands. I have been saying to myself, in the 
chamber, ‘ Behold, he cometh with clouds.’ It is 
growing dark over my dwelling; God is descend¬ 
ing upon us in a cloud. 1 Behold, he taketh away, 
who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, 
what doest thou.’ 0, you never lost a wife, my 
dear sir, nor looked on a motherless family, as I 
begin to do. God help me, for I shall lose my 
reason.” 

“No, my dear sir,” said the pastor; “think what 
has just taken place up stairs. You now seem to 
say, as Manoah did, ‘We shall surely die;’ but his 
wife said , 1 If the Lord were pleased to kill us, — 
he would not have showed us all these 'things.’ 
God has bestowed on your children, through their 
believing mother, his covenant, to be their God. — 
You are a Notary Public, I believe, sir.” 

“ I am,’ ; said Mr. Peirce. 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


293 


u Then,” said the pastor, “ you know the impor¬ 
tance of seals.” 

11 0, yes,” said Mr. P. “A gentleman, last week, 
came near losing the sale of a large property, situ¬ 
ate in one of the Middle States, because he had 
had some papers executed, here, before a court not 
having a seal. I told him, beforehand, that he was 
wrong; but he wished to know of what possible 
use a seal could be, when the judge and the clerk 
used printed forms, and the blanks were filled 
under their own hands. The papers came back, 
and he had to do his business over again, and before 
a court having a seal.” 

“But he was perfectly honest, at first, I pre¬ 
sume,” said the pastor, “ only the form was defect¬ 
ive.” 

Mr. P. Yes, sir; but the form, in such a case, 
is the warranty. You know that the power to 
have and use a seal is one of the things specially 
conveyed by a legislature. 

“ God has seals,” said the pastor. “ One is bap¬ 
tism. It used to be circumcision. But, as the old 
royal seal is broken at the coronation of a new 
king, God appointed a new seal, baptism, to mark 
the new dispensation; as he also changed the Sab* 
25 * 


294 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


bath of creation in honor of his Son’s reign, and 
removed the memorial of his deeds of greatest 
renown, the Passover, for one that signifies still 
greater deeds, the Lord’s Supper. Thus God has 
his seals. He attaches great importance to them. 
He binds himself by them. Your wife, being a 
child of God, it is his arrangement, from the begin¬ 
ning, to enter into covenant with her in behalf of 
her children. He stands, now, in a special relation 
to them, and has placed the beautiful seal of 
Heaven upon his promise to that dear sick mother, 
“I will be a God to thee and to thy seed after 
thee.” 

“ Is it necessary that the father should be left 
out?” said Mr. P., covering his face with his hand¬ 
kerchief. “They are mine, and God holds me 
responsible for them. I am to be left alone with 
them in the world. Is there not mercy for me, 
too ? 0, I had such a gleam of hope in the cham¬ 

ber ! As I saw the water descending from your 
hand upon those dear heads, I thought, How much 
like a divine act such baptism is, — something from 
God. I always thought of baptism as a cross, to 
which I must submit; now I see that it is a token 
of love, bestowed upon me. So I thought of those 


AND HER CHILDREN. 


295 


words: 1 1 am found of them that sought me not.’ 
God seems to have come to me in that baptism. 
I was expecting that, if I ever became a Christian, 
I must, in token of my submission, be buried in 
the waters of baptism. I would be willing to be, 
still, if necessary; but that gentle baptism, coming 
to me and mine, seems like God being beforehand 
with me, doing something with me and for me. It 
made me think of Christ inviting himself into the 
house of Zaccheus, to save his soul. I always felt 
that I must obtain religion wholly of myself; now 
I feel that God has begun the work in me. I 
am sustained and borne on. That baptism was 
the most powerful appeal that ever reached my 
heart. It seems to me, in its connection with the 
gospel, like a beautiful symphony of instrumental 
music in an anthem, which strives to interpret the 
words. It proved an overture to me, indeed, in 
the best sense. But, my dear sir, how near we 
came to losing all this which my wife has enjoyed.” 

The door opened, and little Lucy came in with 
two plates and two silver knives, and that great 
red appld* which her mother had received a few 
days before. 11 Mother sends her love to you, sir, 
and begs that you and father will eat this.” 


296 


BAPTISM OF THE SICK WIFE 


They looked at the apple for a few moments, 
when the husband said, “ I do not feel like eating 
it. Do oblige me by taking it home with you.” 

The pastor took it home with him, placed it on 
his mantel-piece in his study, where, for several 
days, it gave such an odor as to attract the notice 
of every one that came in. The hand that sent it 
to him, in less than a week had finished its work 
on earth. The apple then became a hallowed 
thing. There it remained till it wilted, grew soft, 
and finally turned nearly black. 

A little, unceremonious visitant to his father’s 
study would often climb into the chair near the 
shelf, and express his wonder, and repeat his ques¬ 
tions, at the seeming mystery, — first, of not eating 
the apple, and suffering it to be wasted; and then, 
of letting it remain when it ought to be thrown 
away. It was not long, however, before the apple 
was buried in a pot of earth. In due time green 
shoots appeared. And when the pastor saw them, 
he said with himself, 11 The children of thy servants 
shall continue, and their seed shall be established 
before thee.” 

How it grew in the pastor’s study, a little sacra¬ 
mental emb.em of hallowed scenes, and of infi- 







AND HER CHILDREN. 


297 


nitely precious truths, — how a place was selected, 
and afterwards prepared, for it, near a garden-wall 
which separates the wife’s little garden from her 
grave, — and how the husband came alone, one 
Sabbath, and joined the church, receiving the seal 
of baptism from the same hand that sprinkled the 
water upon the heads of his wife and children,— I 
cannot tell you now, nor, after so long detention, 
would you be willing at present to hear. 


THE END. 









































































. 





B 


















































































